Powerful Rikkai Dai
by I.Hate.Running
Summary: The story about the Demons of Rikkaidai and the person 'behind' them. From their time as freshmen and up. Apparently things aren't as they look to be, is it now? Who is the brainless Goddess? And what is her odd connection to the regulars! OC story! Enjoy
1. Member? Not!

**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

01 – Member? Not!

The bell rang in, telling everyone to hurry inside as the classes began. Fujika, Nadjai looked up, just as she stepped out of the car. "Not already! I can't be late on my first day!" She exclaimed, slamming the door hard after having said bye to her mother.

Then she ran across the street, looking left and right after cars. She passed into the school yard, through the gate with the _Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku_ sign and over to the door. She pushed it open with a foot, waving back at her mom, who was about to start the car.

Door slamming after her, her middle school life had begun!

Two seconds later, she appeared in the door once again. Her mom was leaning against the car, shaking her head, holding a black bag up in front of herself. "Forgot something?" She asked across the yard.

Nadjai quickly ran down to her and took it, slinging it over her shoulder. "Well … Bye again then!" She grimaced.

This time, she entered her middle school life! With no more failures! … For the time being …

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_What would the best way be, if I am being late … _She questioned herself in her mind, trying to find the best excuse before entering class. She looked at the note in hand, on the top she was able to read her own name, age and so on and on. Further down her class stood. _1-1_.

Once again she was a freshman again. She reached out with her hand for the door knob. _I'll go with 'getting lost'. _Then she slid the door open. Everyone turned their heads and stared. The teacher raised an eyebrow, and she felt colour rise in her face.

"S-sorry!" She quickly apologised, bowing. "I got lost!"

"Ah." The female teacher said, sounding quite understanding – luckily. "It sure is hard when you come to a new school-" She smiled, looking around to the whole class, probably talking to them all. She guessed, she weren't the only one showing up a few minutes late. "But take a seat, so we can begin class."

Happy, she could hide from all the stares, she plumbed down into a chair, putting down the bag next to her. She then turned her attention to the rest of the new classmates. Most of them probably looked just as nervous as her, giving her a little bit of courage.

The teacher cleared her throat and spoke up. "It is probably best I introduce myself first, am I right?" She stood up from the chair, took a chalk and wrote her name in the right corner. "Kobaya, Miruka."

Nadjai kept her gaze on the name, trying to remember the name – as she had a way of always forgetting right away. _Kobaya, Miruka. Kobaya, Miruka. _Slightly thoughtful, she in stead forgot to pay attention to what the teacher said. Multitasking weren't really you …

"-comer?"

She blinked a couple of times. "Huh?" She turned her head, looking around at them all. They were looking right back at her too. "What …?"

"Miss latecomer?" Kobaya-sensei repeated. Nadjai looked at her, trying to figure out what she had done wrong. "Mind introducing yourself?"

"Oh!" She quickly jumped to her feet. "Sorry 'bout that! Hello everyone! I'm Fujika, Nadjai, twelve years old, born 21st of August. My favourite colour is blue. I like-"

"Yes, thank you, Nadjai-chan, that's enough." She told her, smiling at her. Nadjai looked around, feeling rather embarrassed, as everyone was snickering. "Oh …" She laughed nervously. "Well-! One last thing! You can all just call me Jai, I hate honorific's."

Then she sat down again, listening to the rest of class, introducing themselves – in a more _short _way.

Your POV

You looked out the window, twirling a strand of your black hair between two fingers. You yawned out, not really expecting this to have happened – why hadn't everyone flocked around you already?

"Nadjai-chan!" Someone called out. You turned in your chair, looking at a blonde-haired girl, striding over to you.

"It's Jai, just Jai!" You corrected her, smiling.

"Sure … Just wondered if you wanted to come over and talk with us?" She pointed to a couple of other girls, sitting around a table, chatting happily together.

You shrugged, smiling at her. "Of course! Of course!" You then followed her over, dragging your chair after you. You sat down, looking at them all. "Hi!" And so you began making new friends.

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"So, Nadjai-"

"_Jai_." You cut in.

"Right, Jai! You got an idea, what club you'll join?" Riku asked, as you both walked down the hall, trying to remember your way around. You glanced at her, shrugged.

Akira, Riku was the blonde girl, who had walked over to you in class. The two of you had easily bonded, as she was just as out-going as you. She had a few other interests than you, which you had ended up fighting over (Brad Pitt vs. Orlando Bloom for example) – but you had still found a friend in the other.

In appearance, you were quite the opposite. She was rather short, only around 1,40 meters, where you were close to 1,55. Only 15 cm in difference, but it still counted. And then there was the colour of your hair. Hers were blonde, while yours were pitch black.

"I haven't really thought about it just yet." You said, sticking your head into the library. Riku was right after you. Wandering around the shelves, you picked up random books, looking at the front covers.

"Then could you possible come with me? There's one I'd like to check out, but I don't want to go alone!"

"Coward …" You muttered, smirking.

"That was fun … Haha …!" She launched out an arm at you, but you dodged. "It's after school, so only if you can stay late?"

"Yeah, it's alright!"

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Once again the bell rang. First day of school had ended. You got up from your chair, packing down the newest of the books into your bag and waited at the door for Riku. "Ready?" She asked, looking rather excited.

"Sure …" You muttered, listening to your own stomach growling. "But when we're done, you so much owe me something to eat." She laughed, grabbing your hand in hers.

"Let's hurry on!"

She guided you through school to the outside grounds. You looked around on the different courts, expecting her to stop any second. Yet she didn't. And soon you were able to hear a familiar sound. _Dock! Dock! Dock! _You glanced over to your friend, happily walking a few steps ahead of you.

"Riku-chan, it ain't … Tennis? Is it?" She looked back at you, smiling. Then she nodded, making your heart sink. _Tennis? _She continued walking and now dragged you on with her, as you tried resisting as much as possible.

"Is there something wrong with tennis?" Riku asked.

"I just don't like it, that's all …" You said slowly, glancing around.

"**Come on girls!**" You raised an eyebrow, as the two of you stopped in front of the tennis courts. Who could possible yell _that _loud? You looked in on all the second and third years, already in the middle of practicing. A few other freshmen, like you, stood around, outside the fence, looking in on the girls' tennis club. "**You call that running?**" Your eyebrow shot up into the air. Apparently, it was the captain, who had enough lung capacity to blow eardrums.

"Well, shouldn't you change already or something?" You asked your friend, continuing watching a few third years begin hitting balls back and forth practicing lobs while having the captain hovering over them.

"Oh, yeah!" Riku left you for a few minutes, as she along with some other newbies went for the changing room. In the mean time, you only bored looked around. You noticed the boys' courts were not far away. Compared to the boys, most of the girls had no chance in life. Of course compared to most others they were great, but they would have no chance in any tournament.

Just then someone hugged you from behind. You tilted your head backwards, looking at Riku. "That was fast." You said, trying to shake her off. She easily let go and stood next to you. She watched the players.

"Yup!"  
"Why do you want to join the tennis club anyways?" You asked her, not really thinking of her as someone _sporty_. She'd rather be one you could find 24/7 in the mall. She smirked, pointing over to the boys. You rolled your eyes, understanding her gesture.

"I've heard there's some really hot guys, especially the regulars." She giggled girly, making you sigh. _Of course … I should have guessed. _

"And I who thought, you were supposed to play tennis because it's fun … not to get close to boys." She doubtful looked at you, as if you were stupid or something.

"That's second priority."

"**Freshmen!**" The captain yelled, standing on the other side of the fence, only a few steps away from you. Your eye twitched and you felt your ears blow. _Ah, that hurts. _"**What are you standing around for?! Hurry up, get onto court!**"

You looked a final time on Riku, asking if she was sure this was it for her with your eyes. She looked at little, as if she was close to running away, but gathered her courage and walked onto court with the rest of the girls.

You just shook your head, watching them stand in line, captain walking back and forth in front of them. "**So you are the new recruits, eh?**"

This was really giving off the impression of the military and the captain was a harsh general, whose job was to make the weaklings into killers. Or something like that … You chuckled.

But you quickly cut yourself off, as the captain's head turned directly towards you. You gulped down hard, as all blood left your face. And then she started stomping over. You looked around for a place to hide, but before you had a chance, she was there.

"**What are you doing?!**" She roared into your ear. Nervously, you smiled at her.

"Watching?" You suggested.

"Oh really?" Her voice had returned to what most would think as a normal level. Her eyes narrowed. "You want to know something?"

_No? _"Uhm, yeah?"

"People are not allowed to just stand here, _watching_. Either you get in here right now and join the practice or you leave. **Got that?**"

You nodded, scared out of your mind. "O-okay …"

"**I can't hear you!**"

"Sir, yes, sir!"

And so, you found yourself standing next to Riku once again, dressed in a sports outfit, which you had borrowed from your friend. You glanced at her, somewhat wondering how you had gotten into all this mess.

_I'm not even a part of this club … _You thought annoyed.

"**Second and third years, start playing! Freshmen, pick up balls!**" You sighed, you even had to pick up balls …You ran after a ball, which happily bounced past you after a third year had hit a smash. Just as you bowed down to grab it, you tripped in your shoelaces and lay – face down – on the ground. The nearest people glanced down on you, but decided not to help, as the captain was also sternly looking that way. Slowly you pushed yourself up with the help from your hands and sat on the ground. You had scratched your hands and you tried brushing out the worst dirt. You winched. "Auch …" You muttered, but got up again, as you felt a shadow over you.

"**Are we taking a break already?**" The captain asked. You turned and looked up at her. _Scary third year …_

"N-no."  
"**Then why aren't you picking up the balls as supposed?!**"

"Sorry captain!" You apologised, quickly bowing down and picking up a ball. "I'll get started right away!"

She looked a last time on you, but then she returned to the people playing. You let out a sigh, feeling lucky not being killed.

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_Bock! _Your eye started twitching once again, as the ball hit you on the side of your head. You closed your eyes, taking in a deep breath. The little yellow ball bounced away and you turned your head. A couple of arrogant looking juniors were laughing at you.

_Haha … Idiots … _You ignored them and continued with your 'very' important job, picking balls. _Bock! _Once again. You turned towards them, shaking your head. "Either you are REALLY bad hitting a ball properly, or you are doing it on purpose – which I don't think, since that would just be stupid." You stated annoyed, feeling your temper rise drastically.

"What if we did it on purpose?" One of them asked, slinging her brown hair over her shoulder. You knew it was her, since she was the only one holding a racket – you sure were a great Sherlock Holmes!

"Then you are s-t-u-p-i-d." You told her, spelling out the last word since … well, she was stupid. Oh, how you could just see her close to exploding. "And anyways, why are you picking on _me_?" You asked.

_Bock! _

"Would you mind stopping that?"

_Bock!_

They laughed.

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The captain stood not far away, in the middle of talking with the other captain for the boys. She looked through a couple of papers, which he had showed to her, containing the line-up for the boys to the next tournament.

"Have you checked out the newcomers?" She asked, referring to the freshmen.

"Not yet." He said, looking over the courts with girls. A few noticed him and started giggling. Tsk … "I'm not sure if any of them are good enough yet-"  
"You never know unless you try." She said, closing the papers. "I have my eye on a few."

Just then another third year girl ran over. "Captain, some of the juniors are picking on a freshman!" She said, pointing towards the other end. The captain's eyes narrowed, as she saw who the victim was.

"When you talk about the devil." She shook her head and started walking over, the two others right behind her. As they passed people, they stopped whatever they were doing and watched. She paused behind the juniors, just when they sent another ball towards you.

_Bock!_

Still, you did nothing, in stead raising your eyebrow, looking past them at the captain. This was starting to get interesting …

"**What's going on?**" She asked, taking on her 'captain-voice'. The three turned around, startled.

"C-captain?!" They asked.

She continued watching them, waiting for a proper response.

"We- we were only trying to- Err …"

"It seemed like you were picking on her." The boys' captain stated, looking at you. You just looked back at him, shrugging.

"Weren't that bad." You said, smirking. "They don't even have enough strength to make me feel it … A leaf could have done more damage."

A vein pulsed in the temple of the junior leader, as she glared at you. You noticed the grip around the racket hardened. "H-how dare you?!" Her voice trembled from anger.

_Anger issues__ much …? _You thought.

"Want to settle this once and for all?" The only boy on courts asked (therefore the captain), smiling sweetly.

The other captain looked at him, a little annoyed. "I'm the captain here, remember that."

"Sure, but we can just make them finish this over a match." He stated. "I know you are thinking the same." She rolled her eyes, waving her hand, massaging her head with the other.

"Fine, I don't care …"

You looked at them all. From one to another. "O-oi! I don't want to!" You said, trying to get _your _point out – you was the victim, but everyone seemed to ignore you! "I'm not a part of this club anyways!"

But you only got a racket stuck in hand and guided to a free court. You blinked a couple of times, puzzled. The junior stood on the other side, looking rather grim. You sighed. "Thanks for listening …" You muttered, slowly twirling the racket in your hand, finding the best way to hold it.

"**The best of one set!**" The girls' captain started off, being the referee. "**Fujika service play!**"

"Huh?" You looked up at the captain, sitting in the tall chair. "I'm even supposed to serve?!"

"Perhaps you shouldn't have provoked them if you can't even play." She smiled innocently at you, even though she was quite aware she had just ticked you off.

"Oi! First of all, _they _provoked _me_! And secondly, I don't need to be able to play tennis, since _I'm still not a part of this club_!"

She only looked at you. "**Fujika service play!**" She repeated. You sighed. _Damn it, can't be helped …_ You thought, throwing the ball up into the air. Then you slung your racket, hitting the yellow ball. It went across court, directly against the junior. It hit the ground in front of her, spun and then … stopped.

The girl stared at it, waiting for it to bounce back up. Except, that never did happen.

You didn't even look at it, but moved on to the next serve. "Ref, mind doing the call?"

The captain smirked; she knew you were something special. "**15-0.**"

Once again you hit the ball against the ground, bouncing up and down. Then you threw it up, leaned a little back and hit it. Once again it hit the ground, but did not jump up again.

"How is she doing it?!" You heard someone mutter.

"**30-0.**"

"**40-0.**"

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"**Game set, 6-0.**" The captain jumped down from the chair onto the ground, turning her attention to the junior. "I guess it has been decided. If I ever see you mess with her again, I'll punish you severely."

She gulped down and apologised pretty much a hundred times, bowing at the same time. She looked rather out of breath, since she had also run around on the court, trying to get to the ball in time. You had won in less than fifteen minutes.

The captain then turned towards you. "And you, as a punishment for provoking your _kohei_-"

"I didn't _provoke _anyone!" You cut in, yet she only ignored you.

"**Run twenty times around the courts!**"

"Eh?! What? Are you serious? That isn't fair!" You whined, about to jump her. She sternly looked at you, and you recoiled. _Wah! So scary! _You sighed in defeat and started running around the courts. Yet, there _was _someone, whom you could blame. "I swear, Riku-chan! You owe me BIG TIME!"

Riku only chuckled, watching you. She nearly started choking, when you tripped over your own feet once again. You just lay there, muttering curse-words quite loudly, so everyone could hear it. She shook her head.

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Normal POV

The two captains were once again standing against the fence, watching the girls play. But when they heard a freshman break out into laughter, they turned their heads.

Zen chuckled, as he saw the trouble-making freshman from earlier, lying across the ground. "Are you sure _she _is the one, you got your eye on? You've checked if she got a twin or anything?"

Miku sighed and watched her slowly getting up again. "Mm, I'm positive. The only problem is she's sort of …clumsy."

"You don't say."

The freshman had made her way up again, brushing off her clothes. She raised her hand threatening against another girl and then she started running again. But not for long, as she rounded a corner, tripped (again) and slammed her head directly into a pole.

They stared.

"She could be a secret weapon." Zen proposed, once again starting to chuckle. "In a match, if she's close enough to the opponent, she could trip and knock them out."  
"You think that could work?" Miku asked, thinking of it as the most stupid plan ever.

"Not really …"

Nadjai sat on the ground, puzzled looking around. She tried getting up, but staggered and fell back again onto her behind. "Just perfect if she got a concussion …"

But she hadn't, as she used the pole for support and got up again. Her legs were shaking, but she was able to stand at least. "Shouldn't you order her around now? Just to be a little sadistic and all?"

She looked at him. "You think?" He nodded. "Fine … **Oi! Freshman, get going already or it'll be ten more!**"

"GAH?!" She started over at them, a fierce look in her eyes.

"**NOW!**"

"I. Hate. Running!"

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	2. Yukimura & Sanada

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**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

02 – Yukimura and Sanada

Your POV

"That wasn't really that scary!" Riku exclaimed, stretching as the two of you walked out of the dressing room. You massaged your head, while sighing. "Want to go check out the boys?" She asked, turning to face you, still walking.

"I don't really-" You started off, yet you once again got cut off. No one really did listen to you!

"Please!" She begged, her blue eyes widening. "I got a cousin on the team and he's really cute!"

"If you are about to say you'll introduce me, then it won't help."

"Are you psychic?" She asked, smirking.

"I don't really-"

But did she listen? Not at all … In stead she just grabbed your hand and dragged you on, ignoring your protests and yells of kidnapping. A few of the girls looked after the two of you and you tried grabbing onto the nearest.

"Help … me!" You begged.

"Nadjai-chan, stop it already!"

"I told you to call me Jai, darn it!"

Finally she stopped up and you got up from the ground. That small girl was that strong? You pondered, looking her up and down. _Hidden muscles or something? _But then you turned your attention upwards onto Riku and noticed her … _drooling? _You stared at the saliva running down her chin.

Your brow furrowed, as you looked around for whoever she was staring at. "Err? Either you have some sort of attack or you've seen a hot boy?" You asked.

As if hypnotized, she raised her hand and pointed up ahead. You followed her finger and saw her pointing onto the captain from earlier. "Oh- What?! Him?"

"Isn't he just gorgeous?" She asked, sighing heavenly.

"I can't say that …"

"Oh, hello girls." A somewhat familiar voice said from behind you and a shadow fell over. A shiver went up your spine and you slowly turned around, coming face to face with the captain.

"Hi." You just stated.

She looked at you. "What kind of greeting is that to a sempai? And even your own captain?!" She asked, faking being shocked. You only rolled your eyes, not even wanting to discuss it with her anymore. _I'm still not a part of your team …_

"At least I greeted you …" You muttered, motioning to Riku, who was _still _drooling over the boys' captain.

"What's with her?" Miku asked, slightly worried about her team member.

You shrugged. "I think she has an obsession with boys or something …" You explained. "And right now she is drooling over the captain."

"**EH?**" The other girl exclaimed, starting to shake the girl. "**You do what?!**"

Your eyebrow flew up into the air right away and a smirk spread across your face. "Oh …"

Her attention was turned to you, nervously looking at you. "Oh what?"

You snickered. "You like him? Don't you?"

"**No way!**" She stuttered, cringing her hands together. "W-why would I?"

"If you at least could _not _stutter, it might convince me." You said, turning your attention back to the courts and the mentioned captain, who was … on his way over.

"What are you guys doing here?" He asked, stopping up at the fence. He looked to all of you. First Miku; who was looking rather flustered. Then Riku; whose eyes were fixed on him and drooling. The last one was you, who were snickering like a maniac.

"I have no idea what is going on … and I don't think I want to either." But then he chuckled. "Mika … Are you blushing?"

She snapped out of it right away and hid her face with her hands. "N-no! I don't!" She turned around. You looked interested at her, but felt the other captain's gaze on you, so you quickly stepped around.

"Did you do that to her?" He asked.

"I think so …" You tried remembering what had happened earlier.

"Well done!" He gave you the thumps up. "I've never seen her blush before, and we've been friends forever-"

"You have?" Once again you smirked. "Really … How _interesting …_"

"It's not interesting at all!" Your captain snapped, turning back to you. "There's nothing going on between the two of us!" She gasped and slammed a hand over her mouth right away. But it was too late; she had already said it out loud.

You stared at her, mouth completely open. You couldn't believe she just said it. _Damn, I wanted to have fun, tormenting her about it!_

"M-Miku?" Zen asked, confused. "What do you mean?"

This time it was your turn to keep yourself quiet with a hand, just to make yourself not burst out laughing. This was getting more and more fun! The two seniors of yours looked at each other.

"Do you … like me?" He asked. She nodded, not able to hide a blush with her hands.

"W-what about you?" She whispered.

"I …"

They looked into each others eyes, both having a tint of redness across their cheeks. At that moment, you so very much wished you had a video recorder. But then, suddenly it evolved into something, which you had quite not expected. In the blink of the eye, they were all over each other.

Your eyes widened. "_That _is just so wrong!" You exclaimed, freaked out. Those two, you figured, must have liked each other secretly for ages to turn out like that in a spit second. In the end you decided to just ignore them and let them … finish that in as must secret they now could, in the middle the tennis courts. You turned back to Riku, who too was staring at them, jaw unhinged.

You used a finger to close her mouth. "Get over it already." You told her.

She blinked and looked at you. "I guess he ain't single any more?" She asked.

"Yeah …"

She shrugged. "Oh well, just got to find someone else then, no?" Apparently, she completely didn't care.

"Good you get over a crush that easily …" You muttered.

"Yeah, I know! It's a special gift!" She smiled, not noticing you rolling your eyes. Then she started looking around once again, going into search mode. You followed her head, as it turned over all the courts.

"Looking for someone special?" You asked.

"Yeah! My cousin." She winked at you. "As promised, I'm going to forge you two together!" Your mouth dropped the second time the last hour and you stared at her.

"_What_? Force?!"

"I said forge."

"Oh … But still! You can't just put people together! It's just not right! Haven't you heard of peoples free will?!" You continued with your righteous speech, but your friend just completely ignored you and in stead focused on finding her cousin.

"Ah!" She clapped her hands together. "There he is!" She beamed at you, while you only cut yourself off, sighing. _Here we go … _"Oi! Seiichi-kun!" She called across the courts. All the boys turned and stared. You grimaced and turned around, acting as if you didn't know the person next to you. Though, the only thing you came to face, was Miku and Zen _still _making out. "Oh my God! Don't you people breathe?!" You exclaimed.

But then you felt Riku tap your shoulder and slowly you turned around again. She stoo there, smirking at you. Next to her stood another freshman. He had half long, curly, purple hair going to a little above his shoulders and his eyes were the same colour. He was a little taller than you and looked … well, cute!

He looked at you pretty much as puzzled as you did. "Um, Riku-chan, why did you call me over in the middle of practice?" He asked. Riku hugged him from behind and whispered something in his ear.

You raised your eyebrow and tried to hear, what was being said between the two. "Huh?" He asked and leaned closer and she repeated. Then he looked shocked at you. Your nose cringed, as you stared at the two.

"What are you whispering about?" He asked questioningly. Once again Riku clapped her hands together and pushed the boy closer to you.

"Now! Introduce yourself!" She ordered him. He glanced back at her and she gave him the thumps up.

"Do you know, what is going on?" He asked.

"I think she is trying to play cupid …" You muttered.

"Ah …"

"Anyways, let's just play her game for now! I'm Fujika, Nadjai, nice to meet you!" You smiled at him, bowing. "Class 1-1!"

"Nice meeting you too, I'm Yukimura, Seiichi, 1-3."

Riku stood behind the two of you, happily pressing her hands against each other, holding them to her chest. "Ah, young love!" She suddenly exclaimed, making the two of you turn and stare.

"Huh?"

"I knew it! You are such a lovely couple."

_Absolute silence …_

"What are you talking about?" You asked. "We're just saying hi."

"Love!"

"… I have no comment …" You stated, wondering how you ended up with a weird friend once again. You turned back to Seiichi, but found him completely frozen, as his attention had fallen onto the two captains.

"What is going on?" He asked, a little worried.

You gaped. "You people still don't breathe?!" You took a deep breath yourself. "You should just forget you saw that …" You muttered. "I'm not quite sure how it ended up like that."

"Ah …"

"Love …"

"Shut up Riku." You shook your head. "There's too much _love _in the air …" Then you looked at Yukimura again. "Want to move a little away from here, it's making me sick …"

He shrugged. "Sure …"

The two of you made your way away from them, hoping they wouldn't get noticed. Well, the two captains were too busy with … yeah, and Riku was like a recorder broken and playing the same over and over again. Love.

"So, you're a part of the tennis club too?" Yukimura asked.

You shook your head. "I can't really say I am, but somehow everyone thinks I am. I don't how it ended up like that, since I was only here so Riku wouldn't be alone, but then I got attacked by the captain … and forced to join."

He looked at you with a raised eyebrow. "I see …"

"What about you? Got forced too, or do you enjoy playing tennis?"

"Well, I joined on my own. I've been playing tennis for quite some time-"

"Do you enjoy it?" You cut in.

"Sure …"

You stopped up a little away from the three and looked through the fence at the rest of the team. Most of them had taken the absence of the captain as a chance of getting a break, while the freshmen quickly had taken over the courts. The sound of tennis balls being hit filled the air, but it wasn't rapidly – as most of the freshmen still weren't able to hit the ball more than once or twice.

"Ever competed in competitions?" You asked, watching a doubles match, which slowly ended up in chaos. One of them got hit in the head by a passing ball and blacked out right away. You raised your eyebrow and hoped – for the safety of the tennis team – that the two captains would soon end their relationship, since else most would be dead within the week.

"Yeah, I've been to a few."

"Hm … You've won any?"

"Yeah, a couple."

"That's pretty cool." You said and smiled at him. "Though I don't like tournaments, I still think it's pretty cool to be that good-"

"You don't like tournaments, how come?"

"Ah, that's just a weird idea of mine." You laughed, but then …

You suddenly noticed someone on one of the courts, playing. Someone you knew. _I think I'm going crazy? _You thought, wondering if you were hallucinating or what. _Perhaps mom put something in my bento? _But then, as a gust of wind blew of his cap, you smiled, positive it was him.

"Nadjai-chan? Is something wrong?" Yukimura asked, trying to catch your attention again.

"Eh?" You blinked a couple of times, looking back at him. "Oh, sorry about that, Seiichi-kun, but-" You passed by him. "I just saw someone I know!" And so you left, leaving him all alone with a slight feeling of … getting dumped?

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Normal POV

"Gen-chan!" His eyes widened, as he heard a girl's voice from across the court. He closed his eyes for a split second, praying to God it was only something he imagined. But as he opened them again, he saw her, running over the court next to him. "Gen-chan!" She repeated, waving happily. The people nearby stopped up and stared at her. A few seniors tried tackling her, as she had entered court, when she wasn't allowed. But she agile avoided them.

Only a few meters away from him, she spread out her arms and about to hug him. But, thanks to some rather fast reflexes, he pulled out a ball from his pocket, threw it up and hit it directly against her.

Luckily, it made an impact with her head.

_Bock!_

At first she just stood there, not really sure what had happened, but then she fell to the ground. And there she sat, blinked confused, yet still beaming happily at him. "That hurts, Gen-chan!" She pouted, jumping to her feet once again.

"I told you not to call me that. What are you, seven?"

"So sorry, Sanada-san." She stuck out her tongue. "Just because I was happy to see you."

"Hm."

"Stupid ..." But then she returned to her normal self and once again sent a toothy smile in his direction.

"Whatever, just get off the court already. You're not allowed to be here."

"Who can stop me?"

He just looked at her.

"Right … But not without you, that's for sure!" She took his hand in hers and started dragging him with her out. "And what are you doing at Rikkai Dai?" She asked. "I thought you'd go to … Okay, I forgot the name, but-"

"I can decide where I want to go without giving a report to you, can't I?"

"But what if I tried going to that school too and you wouldn't be there?" She asked, thinking of the horrible things that might have happened then.

"First of all, it was an all-boys school."

"Oh … That might have been a problem … But still, if I know you would have been here, we could have gone together! In stead of I had to get driven by my mom …"

"What's wrong with your mother?"

She glanced up at him. "What if I say 'unhealthy obsession with Michael Jackson'? In fifteen minutes I had to hear her sing along to his songs … He is okay himself, but with a crow as chorus, I think you'd end up deaf too."

They passed the fence, still talking with Sanada – or, Nadjai did most of the talking (or nagging), while he only acted like he was listening. But on the other side, she suddenly got hugged by Riku. "Oi, Jai, what are you doing, dumping my cousin like that?"

"Huh?" She had no idea what she was talking about. "I haven't dumped anyone!"

She pointed towards Yukimura, who was making his way over, not sure what was going on either. "I told you already, she didn't! She only met someone she knew-" He cut himself off, as he noticed _who _she knew. "Sanada?" He asked, not sounding too happy to see him.

"Ah! You guys know each other?" She asked happily, not feeling any of the hostile waves between the two. "That's nice!"

They just stared at you. "How dumb is she?"

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	3. Connections and Therapy

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**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

03 – Connections and Therapy

Your POV

You looked from one person to another, happy that your friends knew each other. "Where do you know each other from?"

Yukimura sighed, guessing he'd have to explain it to you, or you'd never shut up. "We just met at a tournament … That's all."

"Oh! A tournament! Did you play each other? Who won?" You tipped up and down on your toes, wanting to hear a good story. "What was the score? How was the weather? What was the date? What tournament was it?"

"Err … Yes, we played each other." Yukimura told you, looking away.

"Who won? Who won?" You turned to Sanada. "I bet you did, didn't you? You're a really good player!" But he didn't answer, in stead he turned his head away from you and somehow, you understood. "You … lost?" Unable to believe one of the best players you knew had actually _lost_. "How did that happen?!"

Your friend just looked at you, not really wanting to talk about it. "I just did. It can happen for even the best-"

"Yeah, but Sanada-" You whined. "You can't possible loose!"

"Well, I did."

"How much?"

"6-1."

"W-what?! 6-1?!" You stared at Yukimura, mouth completely down onto the ground. "Are you _that _good?"

"Apparently, I'm better than him, that's for sure." The purple haired boy said, smirking at Sanada. Sanada looked icily back.

"This almost makes me want to play you!" You exclaimed, clapping your hands together. "I like playing strong opponents!"

"If you like playing strong opponents, then you should join the tennis team and come with us to the Kanagawa tournament!" The female captain said, suddenly coming up behind you. "We could use a strong player like you on the regulars."

"No thank you." You just stated.

"Eeh? Why not?"

"She doesn't compete in tournaments." Sanada told her, since you looked like you would not answer that question. "Since-"

"Isn't that enough, Gen-chan?" You asked, smiling indicating at him. "I don't compete in tournaments; that is all you need to know." Then you turned your attention back to Yukimura and Sanada, shutting out the captain once again, even though she looked like she wasn't finished with you. "How's the weather?" You asked.

They all raised their eyebrows.

"How's the weather?" Riku repeated. "What's with that question?"

"Dunno … just wanted to break the ice, started to get a little chilly!" You laughed a little to yourself. But then you looked at your wristwatch, trying to figure out the time. "You know what? I think it's about time we get going, Riku-chan, you _still _owe me something to eat." You looked at her, just as your stomach went into growling. "And fast!"

Riku shook her head. "I guess I promised …"

"You sure did!"

"Then let's go grab a burger or something." She said, taking your arm, linking it with her own. She now started dragging you on with her. "Any of you wanting to join us?" She asked. "Seiichi-kun?"

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And so you, Yukimura and Sanada got 'dragged' off by a rather powerful twelve year old girl, and not long after, you all found yourself sitting around a table in the nearest burger-bar. At the counter, Riku stood, trying to order meals for all of you, but had trouble with remembering the orders. "And, uhm- then it was …" You entertained watched her trying to figure it out, but then turned your attention to the two boys. Since they had stated firmly – both of them at the same time – that there was no way, they'd sit next to each other, Yukimura was opposite you, while Sanada had been squeezed in near the window next to you.

You picked up a straw and absentminded started bending it, while you thought it best to break the tense silence. "Oh, yeah! Gen-chan, what class did you end up in then?"

He sighed. "1-3."

"1-3? Isn't that the same as-" You glanced over at Yukimura. "Or?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so." He said, staring out the window, cutting off the conversation, faster than it had started. You stared at him. _So much for that ... _You grimaced, shaking your head.

"I see … Somewhat, I feel a rather hostile wall between the two off you." You said, now trying to act like a therapist, solving a 'marriage'. "Perhaps if we talk about it together, we can solve this little _issue _of yours."

Both of them just stared at you. "Are you stupid or something?" Sanada stated, still not taking his gaze away from the window, in stead watching a couple of people passing by. You sent him a death-glare.

"Not very nice of you … Now, how did it all start?" You placed your elbows on the table, supporting your head in your hands.

"There is no problem at all." Yukimura said, watching Riku, now panicking, as quite a few people had gathered up behind her, all yelling and bossing her around.

"Then we don't you guys 'talk'?"

"What is there to talk about?"

You opened your mouth, but stopped again. "Err, there's … Ah! Tennis! You guys both like tennis, that's something to talk about, isn't it?"

"I won't talk to him, especially not about tennis." Sanada snapped.

"Ah … Now I think we are getting somewhere." _Wow, I'm really good at this! _"As I remember, you've had fight in tennis … and I can see why Gen-chan is a little _mad _at you, since you beat him – by a lot even." You nodded, slowly and knowingly. Yukimura saw the reflexion of Sanada's face in the window, and noticed how his eye started twitching. He chuckled.

"That might be true."

"Hm …" Now you looked at Yukimura. "But that doesn't explain why _you _are hostile too, you _won_. And if I remember correctly, winners are normally happy … So, that doesn't explain anything!"

"I never did ask him to help me!" Once again Sanada snapped, while his head cringing back towards you. "He shouldn't have interfered." You nodded slowly, listening to his tale.

"Please, do continue."

"There's nothing else to tell!"

"Oh, perhaps _you _don't have anything to tell, but …" You glanced at Yukimura. "Seiichi-kun?"

He sighed. "He was playing someone, where he lost badly … 6-2 and 6-1 … And he was about to challenge him once again, but then I thought I'd help, since it might have gone over board, so I challenged the guy in stead. Apparently, he wasn't too happy about it, and so – after I had won – he started yelling at me."

You raised an eyebrow. Since when did Sanada have problems with his anger? "Oh … I see- Who was the guy?"

"Kunimitsu Tezuka." Your eyebrow scurried a little further up, as you recognized that name from somewhere. _Kunimitsu Tezuka …? _

"So, that's why? Because you tried helping out Gen-chan, you ended up fighting in stead? That's … strange."

Just then a tray got placed on the table and Riku sat sighing down next to Yukimura. Her hair was a total mess and she was probably on the verge of crying. "Next time-" She said shakily. "One of you do it …"

You chuckled and grabbed your food. As you took away the wrappings, your nose cringed and you looked at her. "Riku-chan …" You started slowly, catching her attention. "This isn't what I ordered …" The burger got dropped onto the table once again and you flinched, as Riku jumped up.

"EH?!" She glared at you, wanting to rip you into pieces or perhaps force it down your throat. You laughed nervously, waving your hands in front of you, trying to calm her down.

"But this is _better_! Yes! I'll eat it – just … Don't kill me …" You quickly stuffed it into your mouth, chewing. "Mm! Gwod! Tsmasty!" They stared, not really believing it, as you turned slightly green. You placed it onto the table, swallowed and launched for the nearest coke. While you emptied it with the speed of light, Sanada picked the burger up and examined the insides.

"You do know there's tomato in it, don't you?" He asked, using two fingers to pull out the red slices. "And that you are allergic." You nodded, eyeing his soda. He rolled his eyes and slid it over to you. You picked it up and started drinking that too.

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Normal POV

Between the two boys, there was an awkward silence and none of them said anything, while they ate. But the lack of speech from their side off got overlooked, as Nadjai and Riku spoke enough for the whole population in Japan. After having gotten over her allergic reaction, she had quickly gone up to the counter and ordered a new one – this time the correct one – and now the talking could begin.

"So, Jai, have you met anyone you like at the tennis courts?" Riku asked, leaning over the table, winking. She glanced back at Yukimura, smirking. She only stared back at her friend.

"Stop asking weird questions, would you?" She took a fry from Sanada without permission, but he said nothing against it – so she continued taking one after another.

"Fine, then I got a less _weird _question for you. Where do you know Sanada-kun from?"

"Huh? Gen-chan?" She quickly hugged him. "We've been friends forever! His father is the owner of a _very _famous kendo dojo and since I was little I've been training there!"

"So you're even good at kendo?!" Riku exclaimed, thinking she really had a hit, picking her new friend. Not only was she good at tennis, but also kendo?!

"Well, err …" She scratched her head. "I can't say I am …" Nadjai laughed, biting her lower lip. "No matter who I fight, I always loose badly within a few seconds … And that's how we met! I was being picked on by some of the elder guys, since they didn't see kendo as something both girls and boys could do. But then Gen-chan came and saved me, beating them all to pulps!" The two others stared at the cold Sanada. Beaten to … _pulps_? But the girl only continued hugging onto his arm, thinking back onto the good old days. "After that I saw him as a hero and followed him around everywhere!" Her brow furrowed. "Now I think about it, he started developing a certain hate against me … But in the end you gave up, didn't you?" She laughed once again. "And we've been friends ever since then and he has tried to teach me kendo – failing miserably."

"He's like a teacher to you then?" Riku asked, while smirking with knowing smile. Nadjai wondered, what she knew, or – what she _thought _she knew. But she didn't comment it, only nodded. "Then perhaps he has taught you tennis too?"

The two old friends looked at each other, and then turned their attention to her. "No." Both stated at the same time.

"Definitely, no." She said. "I learned tennis long before I met Gen-chan. Not sure though, when he did … one day he was just at my club!" Before he knew off it, she had put her arms around him again. "We just can't be away from each other!"

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She placed the tray on top of a pile, making sure it wouldn't tip over suddenly, as it dangerously balanced back and forth. "Ah … Easy …" Nadjai said, sticking out her tongue, just as it tipped over against her. "Uwah!"

But before it had the chance to totally crush her, an arm reached out and stopped it. At first she only blinked a couple of times, staring at the trays stranding still, but then she followed the arm upwards. Yukimura smiled at her. "There we go."

"Oh! Thanks!"

"What should we do?" Riku then asked, waiting for the two outside the shop along with Sanada. In her hand, she held her (empty) wallet, which she a few minutes earlier had freaked out over. Apparently, she had had the idea _Nadjai _would pay some of it too. Of course she had no intention of doing so, making her friend burst out crying until Yukimura had agreed to pay some of it too, since he had sort of just tagged along.

"Hm …" Nadjai thought slowly, running a finger over her chin. Then, her eyes slowly glanced down onto the two boys' bags, filled with their tennis equipments. "I think I have an idea – come with me!"

She started walking and the others followed her. Riku asked, where they were going and whispering, Nadjai told her about a plan, which she had just come up with. Riku smirked and looked back at the two boys. "Right …" She said.

The two boys looked. "Huh?"

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	4. Friendly Tennis

**Note: **I _hate _writing matches, so please don't kill me if it's way too 'bad' – I'm doing my best with this … And I can't skip it since it is rather important – if you see the title.

**(1) **Also, Sanada's _Invisible Serve _is only used in the anime, so if someone only has read the manga, it's just a really fast serve, which makes it _invisible _– therefore the name.

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**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

04 – Friendly Tennis

Your POV

It was about time someone did something to make the two boys friends or at least not mortal enemies – and that person was you! Or- so had you decided at least, giving yourself the title of 'Special Therapist of Making Friendships', something you wanted to have on your card. When you got one that is …

But here was the plan!

1. Bring the boys to one of those open courts, which were located around the city (had to be a doubles-only court).

2. Make sure you provoke some of the players, so that they'd challenge you to a match.

3. Then act innocent as if unable to play – so that the two guys would be forced to do it.

4. Let the two beat the other pair – completely wipe them out, so they create a bond between themselves.

5. Live happily ever after, together as friends!

Wasn't life just perfect?

The others stared at you, just as you were about to walk up the steps. Blinking a couple of times, you raised an eyebrow, wondering why they all were staring. "Err …" Then it hit you. "I said that out loud, didn't I?"

They nodded.

"Aw man … I think I ruined the plan …" You turned your eyes into the puppy-dog look. "Could you please act, as if you didn't hear it?"

"Well, I guess seeing you make a fool out of yourself is enjoyable too, I didn't hear a thing!" Riku said.

"Like I care." Sanada scowled, a little annoyed, having to take a role in one of your stupid plans.

"And I'd like to see you 'provoke some of the players'." Yukimura chuckled.

You only sighed, still feeling a little down and annoyed at yourself – why couldn't you keep your mouth shut sometimes?! But still you started climbing the stone-stairs leading up to the only tennis courts near by – or, the only you knew off. The three followed right after you, Riku shaking her head at you – to think the plan could get ruined _that _fast.

_Bock! Bock! _

And that was the sound you had hoped to hear. As you got to the top of the stairs, you saw quite a few gathered – and luckily, it was doubles, that was being played. _Yeah, the plan is still on! _Around the court, some were talking, others watching the match and two were hitting a ball between each other. There would be enough to challenge.

The nearest person noticed you and walked over. "Ah! Newcomers, am I right? Haven't seen you here before at least …" He looked at your uniforms. "Aren't you a long way from home, eh? Rikkai Dai kids." Well, he might have been a high schooler, but that didn't mean he was allowed to look down on you.

"Ah … Yeah, we are." You said, bored looking around, especially at the match. "Keh, you call that tennis?" You said out loud, catching everyone's attention. You smirked; this was going right after the plan. The people playing glared at you, as you had apparently neared a touchy subject. "Now, if you want to see some _real _tennis, then these two-" You pointed towards the two guys. "Would be the best to show it."

Sanada and Yukimura both stared at you.

"Oh, _really_?" One of the players asked, ending the match and walked over. "Then why don't they try and _beat _us? Me and my partner?" You chuckled.

"I don't see why not!" Then you turned on your heel and looked at the two. "Now off you go! Show them what you got!"

"Who says I want to?" Sanada asked.

Your smirk widened – to make him want to, was something you didn't have to lift a finger to do. You just had to wait a few seconds. And there it came: "Scared, are we?" Came the teasing voice from the high schooler.

_Within a few seconds, he is sooo close to explode! _You giggled in your mind, watching Sanada and all of the colours in his head get dried out. "Excuse me?" He said coldly, taking out his racket. "Fine, let's get it over with. Yukimura?" He turned to the other boy to only find him taking his own racket out.

"Can't be helped …"

You happily watched as the two stood onto court, everything going according to the plan. "You are actually quite cunning." Riku said, laughing, as Yukimura and Sanada began arguing who should start serving. "I didn't think they'd do it."

"Of course they would." You shook your head, pretty much as everyone else did at them. "I know Gen-chan; he won't take it easy if someone hurts his pride – and I guessed Seiichi-kun was pretty much the same, else he wouldn't be that cold towards Gen-chan …"

"That's why I'm saying it; you're cunning! Even though you easily give off the impression of being a stupid blonde – without the blonde hair though – you're quite smart, aren't you?"

"I'm not sure if I should be flattered or mad. Are you complimenting me?"

"Let's say I am …" She quickly looked away to hide a grin. That might not have been a compliment, now she thought about it.

Normal POV

"What? Is this going to take _all _day?" The tallest of the opponents asked, laughing at the two. He told something to his buddy in a hushed voice, probably the best way of quickly taking care of the two. In the end Sanada moved for the back line to serve. Yukimura had lost in rock-paper-scissor … _How very mature ... _Nadjai thought, but then again – it worked!

And finally the match could begin. Sanada threw up the ball high in the air, bowed down in the knees and slung his racket quickly. There came so much power into the hit that it went into a blur right away and-

As it came to around the net, it was too much of a blur for the eye to see, that it actually disappeared! Gasps and bursts of shock were heard from the audience. Riku nearly fell down from the bench she was sitting on. Yet Nadjai only whistled, as the ball hit the ground, giving the first point to the Sanada-Yukimura pair. "Nice, Gen-chan, you've finished it, haven't you?" She asked him.

He nodded, moving for the next serve. "Didn't I show you?"

"No." She just said, but then cracked a smile. "But it's wicked!"

Once again he pulled off the Invisible Serve (1), making the score 30-0. People muttered among each other, absolutely impressed. The opponents looked a little shocked, but still kept their cool. "Why don't you stop using that?" Yukimura said, as Sanada walked back to the first spot again and passed him. The cap wearing boy raised an eyebrow. "It's rather boring that way."

"Oh, so you feel left outside?" He mocked.

"Oi! This isn't the point of it all; you should be hugging each other! Get on with it!" Nadjai called from the side, clapping her hands impatient. "Before my hair grows grey!"

Sanada shook his head, but couldn't keep from smirking when he heard Riku's response. "Actually, I think you got a grey one, right … there!" Apparently, she had picked it out, as the black-haired let out a yelp.

"Riku!" She whined.

But letting grey hairs be grey hairs, Sanada once again served, but this time he didn't use the special serve, but a normal one without much power – just so Yukimura wouldn't be _left out_.

The ball got sent right back at him, but he didn't move a finger at it. He stood completely still, as it passed by him. But shortly after it got sent back again by Yukimura, who annoyed had ran for it. "What are you doing?" He hissed, making it up for the net, as one of them had made a lob and Sanada didn't give off the impression of moving one bit.

"What? You said you wanted to get a tad of the fun too." He only answered, watching his partner throw himself at the ball. The guy on the other side tried making a lob over him, but he returned it easily with a smash, earning another point for the team.

"40-0." Nadjai said, suddenly deciding to be the ref. She had pushed the high shooler from earlier out of the chair and was now hovering above them, sitting quite comfortable. "And, Gen-chan, get moving." You laughed at him. "This _is _doubles!"

Sanada served a normal serve again and made a move closer to the net, taking in your words, deciding he wanted to join the fun too. And so he took the point, as the ball came pretty much directly back at him.

"1-0 to Gen-Yuki pair." She called out, having found the perfect name for the newly founded pair. Both glared at her, which made her do a mental note to change to name later on.

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"6-0! Gen-Yuki pair wins!" The referee called out, ending the match quickly. It may have been that the two had easily and fast won over the two others, but their play had had some flaws, when it came to the co-operation between the two boys. They had actually had a collision after a dangerous lob.

She jumped down from the chair and walked over to her friends. "So?" She asked, hands on her hips and looking at them, as if awaiting them to say something. But the only thing they did was to stare at you.

"So, _what_?"

"So are you two best buddies now? Or do you still want to kill each other if you had the chance?" She finished. Riku jumped over, about to congratulate the two with their win, but stopped up just before jumping Yukimura. She too expected them to hug right away.

"Hm …" The two looked at each other, not looking like 'buddies' at all. "Perhaps we shouldn't be this hostile towards each other …" Yukimura said slowly, wanting to kill himself just saying it.

Sanada nodded. "You're right. I guess you won fair and square anyways." He reached out a hand and the other took it. While they shook hands – _bonding _– Nadjai and Mira both tilted their heads just a little and smiled sweetly. "Aw …!" Then they looked at each other, smirked and spread out their arms. "Group hug!"

"No way!" The two boys both started, but they still found themselves crushed in a hug by the girls.

"You guys are friends now! That's so good!"

"Wish we weren't right now …"

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	5. Diary and Homework

**(1) **Since they are making English homework – and I've only had English myself for a short time – there might be a few mistakes and so on, but I hope you all understand it enough to make sense!

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**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

05 – Diary and Homework

Your POV

That evening you sat at your desk, absentminded looking out of the window, were dusk was slowly creeping over the world outside. You followed a car with your eyes as it passed by on the road, the two light-bulps illuminating only a little bit in front of it. Then you tapped the pencil against your cheek, turning your gaze downwards onto the small, pink book in front of you. "Now … what to write …?" You thought slowly, reading the first – and only – line you had written so far.

_August, 13__th_

Yeah, you sure weren't the fastest writer and even though you had decided to start a diary for your middle school life, you just didn't have the flow to get started! You ruffled up your hair in annoyance, but that still didn't get you anywhere, except you now had a bad hair-day (or evening) too. You looked at your reflection in the mirror and the haystack that a few minutes earlier had been … pretty. You sighed, but then you slapped your cheeks a few times and turned your attention to the first page. "Wah!" You whined, sounding like a cat getting hit by a car. You put the tip of the pencil onto the paper and started writing.

_Today_

But shortly after you had cleared it again with the eraser, not thinking that was the best way to start it off. It had to have that _Pang!_-factor, so if now someone _actually _got a hold of it, they wouldn't get bored out of their mind. That was your duty; you had to make it as exciting as possible for the person reading it! … Even though it was highly private stuff … And then you got the idea! As lightning from a clear sky!

_Omg! Like totally wauw! It's so cool! Omg, omg, omg!_

… _This is starting to sound a little weird, right? But that's the impression I've gotten of other Middle School students – or at least the girls. It seems, that when you enter middle school you develop this … thing(?) that makes you soooo girly. Well, okay, I'm a girl and all, but to go around in PUBLIC talking like that … I would feel so embarrassed! Or that's what I think, there's probably some who enjoy it – getting all the attention and so on, but I'd rather hide in the deepest hole in the world (don't mind a bottom-less one)._

_But today! Today I am finally a middle school student at Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku (try saying that ten times fast -- impossible) and it has been such an interesting day too!_

_Well, first of all, I turned up late … Since mom forgot to wake me up and I had already busted the alarm the day before. It's like elementary all over again?! But – got to remember that I forgot my bag too – but when I finally got to class (1-1) I found a new friend already. Her name is Riku! She's a freak, but hilarious to spent time with! I don't know if the other girls from class are people, whom I could see myself hanging out with, as most of them are as the already mentioned. But Riku is cool – ice cool. Haha._

_But! There's a HUGE but about her! Somehow, as she wanted to join a club, I got dragged off by her to the tennis club. Yes, TENNIS! I wanted to kill her at that moment – and especially after the captain attacked and thought I was also a freshman joining._

_NOW I CAN'T GET OUT OF THE EVIL CIRCLE!_

_Ah yes … Tennis once again, even though I told myself I had dropped that. I used too much time on tennis in elementary school – I want to have friends. And tennis balls do NOT count! But still I got dragged into it all again … Sigh …_

_But something good came out of all that badness! Riku introduced me to her cousin, Seiichi Yukimura, and I – little naïve me – in the hopes that no one will ever – NEVER EVER – read this, I admit, he was sorta cute. I'm never going to tell Riku that though, since she wanted us to get together already and 'get married' or something. Or at least, that's the impression she is giving off._

_Another reason to say she is messed up on the upper floor …_

_And guess who I met?!_

_The one … The only … GEN-CHAN! Gen-chan is going to Rikkai Dai too? It was like a total shock to see him there … and I think he tried avoiding me? He did try to shoot me with a tennis ball. But I still managed to hug him. Haha! No one can escape my glomps!_

_Seiichi and Gen-chan seemed to have met before and there was this 'hostility' between the two of them … But miss therapist here sorted it all out and they are good friends now – or, as good friends you now can get after two hours._

_But that's pretty much the highlights in my first day of Middle School. So very interesting, am I right? No? Ah … I guess there'll be more from my side off, that's for sure!_

_But tomorrow I'm so much going to get another bunch of friends, that's for sure! I like friends, friends with money is the best! Hehe, only kidding … but if they can pay for lunch, I don't mind!_

_Good night!_

_With love, from me!_

Satisfied, you closed the book, found out the key from under a picture of your mom and dad, locked the little golden lock and placed it in the drawer. You shut it tight, feeling proud of your work. First time ever writing in a diary; wasn't that bad! Then you opened the door to your room and stepped out into the hallway. Further down you could hear the sound of someone … getting shot? Having a slight hunch that it wasn't someone getting murdered in the living-room, but your mother watching TV, you opened the door and stepped inside. And correctly enough, there was no maniac with an AK-47 and twenty victims, only your mom with a bowl of popcorn, sprawled out over the couch, watching Terminator III. She looked up as you entered and gave you a goofy grin. "Hi, hun'!" She said and turned her attention back at the 34" television. "Wasn't sure if you wanted to see it too, so I just started."

"It's alright, mom, I'll survive." You said, while pushing down her legs, making room for you too. It wasn't like you knew it from start to end and had seen it a gazillion times. No, not at all! As arnold Schwarzenegger entered stage and said his catch-phrase, both you and your mom joined him: "I'll be back!" – remembering the German accent.

Then you cracked up laughing. Oh, there was nothing like good old Scwarzy battling another robot, trying to save the world from a nuclear war and _still _able to walk away from it all without (m)any scratches. "So, how was your day?"

This was the only time your mother and you had time together; as she was pretty busy with her work until late, where she came home and was exhausted as if running a marathon. Then the only thing she had the energy to do was to sleep, eat or … sleep. But when she had emptied the refrigerator, she could chill out in front of the television with a great movie and you could come in and have the quality-time everyone needs with their parents.

Well, _parent._

You had a dad and all – not as if your mother had raised you all by herself (only when it came to change diapers). Your dad had been there too, but the last year he had been transferred to another branch of the company and moved to Tokyo. He came home in the weekends, but normally he was working day and night. Therefore it was your mom taking care of most of the duties regarding a family.

Now, back to the story! Had a large detour right there …

You placed your head against her feet and smiled. "It went pretty well." You started off. "I got two new friends _and _met an old one!"

"Oh!" She squealed – she always loved listening to your stories, as they were more exciting than most dramas in TV.

"What do you want to hear about first? New or old?"

"Uhm … Let's start with the new ones!"

"Alright! There was Riku-chan, from my class. And then there's her cousin, Seiichi-kun. Though, Riku-chan wanted to join the tennis club and I tagged along – unwillingly. Her cousin plays there too and he's pretty good- this is here the _old _friend comes into the picture." Your mother clapped her hands together, thrilled. "Gen-chan!"

"Oh!" Your mom repeated.

"Apparently Gen-chan goes to Rikkai Dai too! And he knows Seiichi-kun too from a tournament – and did you know he _lost_?!"

The rest of the evening continued with your mother and you gossiping, laughing at the _smart _words coming from Schwarzy and just eating whatever that contained sugar. But then, when you could feel the sleep slowly creep over you, you made your way to bed.

You only lay there for a few seconds before the sandman had come up from under your bed and wacked you with a sledgehammer, so you passed out right away, dreaming off tennis balls and tomatoes.

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

Normal POV

Once again her mother was forced to drive her to school, as she still hadn't figured out the bus-routes and would probably end up lost. Though, she didn't mind being forced to get up an hour earlier just to drive her lazy daughter to school every morning – that would make her a bad mother!

Slamming the door hard, but opening it shortly after, as her skirt had got caught, Nadjai gave of a goofy grin, that – apparently – ran in the family. "I hate mornings." Was the last thing the 'young' mother (only in her late thirties) heard her daughter say that morning. Not even 'good bye'.

But as she started the engine and was about to drive away, a muffled voice was able to make it through the glass into the car, as she tapped onto the window. "See you later, mom! Have a nice day!"

The black haired girl waved her off before making her way into the school yard, getting mixed up among all the other students, dressed in the same uniform. She was quickly gone …

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

On her way up the stairs, just as the bell rang in, she heard a familiar voice from the lower floor. She turned, in the middle of taking a step, and of course tripped in a shoelace.

Luckily Riku was able to catch her friend, before she'd hurt herself, falling down the stairs. "Oi, are you sleepwalking?" Riku asked the other, supporting her with hands on the back. Nadjai managed to keep her balance and grinned, shrugging.

"It was you, who called to me suddenly – it's multitasking, my weakness! My Achilles tendon!"

"How poetic we are in the morning, eh?"

Laughing they hurried up the stairs, as the class actually had started three minutes earlier. "Did you make homework?" Riku asked, just as she reached for the doorknob.

"EH?!" She stared at her friend, eyes wide open. "We had homework?!"

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

Rather depressed, she placed the book up against the fence, when they at lunch had gone to the roof to get some peace and quiet from all the noise in the classroom. Also, because both of them had gotten another load of homework to do, and couldn't concentrate in class – Nadjai had also gotten a little bit extra as punishment for having _not _done what was due to that day. "I hate English!" She exclaimed, trying to translate a sentence, failing horribly.

"Mm …" Riku said, wiping the pencil up and down as it stuck out of her mouth. She then took it out and wrote something down quickly. "Yeah, it's pretty hard."

"Says the person having all her answer correct …" She muttered, scratching yet another word out. Nadjai reached out and took something from her bento without looking and stuck it into her mouth. Of course what she didn't know; it wasn't _her _box. _And _that is was a tomato.

Two seconds later, Riku watched her leave the roof in a hurry, ordering her to stay put and keep an eye on her lunch. "Do NOT leave!" Was the last thing she heard, before the friend was gone.

"Finally!" She exclaimed. "I never thought she'd leave!" Quickly she reached down into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. She unlocked it and for a few seconds looked at the picture. She had taken it without the others know and it showed Nadjai, Sanada and Yukimura, all hugging. She had made some 'changes' on it and thwarted out the cap-wearing guy's face, and written _N-and-Y_. Was that weird? She wondered, but quickly discarded that idea again. Of course it wasn't; everything for her cousin's happiness!

… She was obsessed, yes …

But then she went into her 'messaging' and started writing a new one. "Hi, Seiichi-kun!" She talked out loud, while typing in the message. "I was wondering if you got time? Jai and I are on the roof, trying to do some homework? Well … She pretty much sucks at it and I have no talent in teaching others. _So_, I was wondering, if you had time? She really would LOVE you if you could help her out! Bye-bye! – Riku!"

Then she pressed the Send-button and waited, an evil grin spread across her face. Was she just an amazing matchmaker?!

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

Yukimura's POV

Just as you was about to take out your lunch, you felt something in your pocket vibrate. Wondering what on Earth it could be, you took out the blue cell phone. It flashed a couple of times more, showing off a picture of your (odd) cousin, pressing a plushie to the screen.

_You got: 1 mail_

_Figured. _He thought and opened it. His eyes quickly moved over the screen, as he read the content. Then he shook his head, wondering how many mental diseases one person could have. Because you sure knew someone who held that record! You then started answering the message, not really knowing if it was some kind of trick to lure you up there, and she'd then jump and eat your brain …

Hey! It could happen!

_Fine, I'll be there in a moment – if I now HAVE to!_

Then you packed your bag and stood up from the chair. You said bye to some of the guys, whom you knew from your old elementary school, as they asked where you were going. Of course they had to ask _where, _you were going.

Would it be a bad idea to say: "Go meet some girls?"

You never know unless you try! "Oh, I just got a message from someone I know if I could possible help her."

And the reaction? "Oh! Yukimura-kun, you got yourself a girlfriend?!"

"No." You just stated, shutting the door after you. _Not at the moment, that is …_

But if it all went as Riku was hoping, you'd have one any moment now …

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Your POV

"Ah … I think I scared some seniors!" You laughed, as you opened the door out to the roof. But you cut yourself off right away, as you saw Riku wasn't alone anymore. Yukimura was leaning across the fence, looking through your English notes. Though he quickly closed it, as you entered, putting it away. "Hi, Seiichi-kun!" You exclaimed happily, not really bothered by him looking through your stuff – you were an open girl! Ask any question and you'd answer! "Since when did you get here?"

"Since-"  
"Since I asked him too!" Riku butted in, making room for you between the two. As you opened your mouth to ask the dreaded word _why_, she quickly continued. "Well, I thought you'd might need some help with your English work … And Seiichi is really good at this!"

You blinked a couple of times, looking from cousin to cousin. But then your gaze stayed at Yukimura, beaming. "You really want to help me?!" You exclaimed, and – as always – hugged him. "Thank you!"

"N-no problem!" He tried getting out, which was rather hard – you try it without air in your lungs and rips crushed to flour. "But … we don't get anywhere if you continue hugging me …"

She reluctant let go. "Yah … you're right." You picked up the notebook, turning page after page until you found the section you had come to. "I've tried making a few of them, but … I have a slight hunch that they are wrong too." You pointed out the few, where you had written a few words, scratched over just as many and drawn a couple of match-men.

"Well, we can't be sure about that just yet …" He said slowly, reading through the first one of them. Riku glanced over your shoulder and burst out laughing. You glared at her direction, making her shut up right away – except a few hiccups came out through her hand.

"What's your grade?" She asked, giggling.

"Err … my last teacher said he didn't want to make me cry …"

They stared. "He said _that_?! Sort of rude …"

"It was the truth-" You beamed. "And I can take it! No problem at all!" You and Yukimura then turned your attention towards the paper again and he put a pencil onto one of them. "That ain't right?" You asked, reading it through again. He shook his head. "Hm …"

"The sentence is right enough, but the Grammatik's a little wrong. It's just a minor mistake." He said, trying to give you a little confidence by not completely rack you down. "When it's _you _and you have to bend to be, then it becomes what?"

You thought it over. "To be …" You reached down into your bag and found out a little, orange book, which you quickly looked through. "Ah, here it is!" (1)

_To be_

_I am_

_You are_

_He, she, it is_

_We are_

_You are_

_They are_

You tapped your finger against _You are_, and looked questioningly up at Yukimura. "Are?" You asked and he nodded. You clapped your hands together and quickly corrected it. "Now I got one right?"

"Indeed you do."

"I rule!" You exclaimed.

"Pretty impressive ..." Riku muttered, still giggling in-between her chewing a carrot.

You just looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "You nearly choked laughing, just by me writing _is _in stead of _are_? I'd like to see your reaction when it comes to those _worse_."

And so your tutoring continued. Of course you still had a lot of troubles with it all – you don't learn a language in one day – but you thought Yukimura was a way better teacher than the real one – and he was doing it for free!

The student, who suddenly had become teacher, didn't really mind helping you out, but he sort of did miss out on his lunch. Every time he tried taking a bite of something, you cut him off, having gone straight into another wall. What more was the third person there, making it hard for the two of you to concentrate.

Riku was watching you both, giggling like a little school girl (which she was) and muttering a certain word, starting with an _L_. But in the end, you snapped and tried chocking her with a brick of juice – and that was when she started this song:

"Seiichi and Jai, sitting in a tree-" … You know the rest.

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai DaixOxOxOxOxO


	6. Bubblegum Obsession

**(1) **You probably need to have seen 'The Lord of the Rings' to completely understand what is going on at this point …

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

06 – Bubblegum Obsession

Your POV

You stretched happily, rolling your shoulders around. Then you shut he notebook tight, never wanting to open it up – ever again! "Thank God I'm done!" You exclaimed, thanking Yukimura over and over again, even though he said it was nothing and glad he was able to help. Then you turned your (hungry) attention to your lunch, and the same did Yukimura, as none of you had had the chance of attacking it so far.

But just as you took up some rice with your chopsticks, a few inches away from your mouth, the bell rang. Tears sprung up into your eyes and you quickly scowled all of it in, not wanting to wait until _after _the last to periods were over. "We'd better get going." Riku said, standing up while shuffling down the bento into her bag. You looked up at her, nodded and packed down your own stuff, trying to ignore the grumbling from your stomach.

Once again you thanked Yukimura, but then you ran after Riku down the stairs. The door shut after you, leaving Yukimura alone outside on the roof. At first he only stared at the door, but as the bell rang once again, as a warning to all latecomers, he jumped up and sprinted down the stairs too.

In the mean time, you ran into the classroom and dropped onto your chair, just as the teacher entered. "Riku-chan, get to your seat right now!" He ordered, since Riku hadn't made it to hers further down in the classroom yet. You chuckled as the teacher suddenly started reprimanding her about 'getting on time' and so on and on.

You rustled through your bag and pulled out your math books, sighing. You didn't like math either and it was your second worst subject. Well … all subjects were your worst, but you really did suck at English and math. After having _yelled _at Riku for a couple more minutes, the teacher returned to his seat at the front desk. "Please take out your books and turn to page 14."

You quickly turned the pages, looking at the different math problems, feeling more and more down for each one you read. Then, as you came to the 14th page, you were completely depressed.

"So, who wants to do it on the blackboard?" The teacher asked, making you sink as low as possible down into the chair. _Definitely not me!_

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Normal POV

"Hurry, hurry Jai! Or we'll be late for practice!" Riku yelled through the classroom. No one answered her, yet a few of her friends looked up at her. But the one person, she was trying to get through to, was peacefully sleeping across the table. Riku sighed and stomped over, slamming a hand hard down next to the other girl. _Bang! _"Uwah?!" She shocked lifted her head from the table and … tripped over her own feet. Riku stared at her friend, now on the ground. "The captain's going to kill you, you know."

Nadjai stared at her for a few seconds, not really understanding what was going on. "Uhm … What captain?" She asked, but then she heard a sound from the door.

"**What are you two doing, slacking off?!**" The two girls' mouths dropped and turned to stare. And there she stood, hands crossed over her chest, looking annoyed. "**Get going already! Move it! Move it!**" She yelled, making the two of them run off right away, her behind, yelling orders.

"I can't believe she came all the way up here to pick us up!" Nadjai exclaimed, sort of annoyed as she had planned to escape before then.

"**For being late, run twenty laps, both of you!**" She ordered, after they stood at the courts, having changed into their sports outfits. Nadjai had brought her own clothes today, as she had had a prediction in the morning when packing her bag; that the captain would get a hand of her sooner or later that day … And true enough, though you hadn't expected her to be in _that _foul a mood. "**NOW!**" She yelled at them.

"We're going!"

The captain nodded; proud of herself. Oh how easy it was to control people … She watched as the two freshmen ran around the courts, too exhausted to even chat with each other already. She shook her head, as her eyes fell on the shoelaces belonging to the taller of the two and how it slowly unwrapped itself. She'd give her maximum one minute, before she would lie across the ground.

Or … apparently, it wouldn't even take that long. Nadjai rounded the corner, speeding up as Riku had gotten ahead of her, and just then she _tripped_. _Smack! _Riku paused, glancing back at her. "**Keep running! She can take care of herself!**" Miku yelled after them, continuing with shaking her head. "**If you can't even stand up yourself, you won't have a chance in life!**"

And so Riku started running again, even though she glanced back for each step she took. In the mean time, Nadjai was examining the ground, close-up. She sighed, wondering _why _she was that unlucky all the time. Why couldn't it be others who would trip – she wasn't the only one with shoelaces. But then she heard the yells of the captain once again, ordering her to get up before the end of the world. Rolling her eyes, she pushed herself up. That was just as Riku passed by her once again, now three laps ahead of you. "You alright?" She asked, concerned.

"Just get going …" Nadjai answered, brushing her legs and torso. "I'll try and keep up with you."

The last 19 laps didn't take as long and she didn't trip again – luckily. Afterwards, they were set to pick up balls along with the other freshmen, but not for long, as … well, to join a club and only pick up balls? Not a good way to get members. So they all were sat to do some swings with their rackets, sit-ups, push-up and everything else the captain could come up with to torment them.

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

"Are you going home?" Riku asked, holding the door for the black haired girl to step outside. At first, she missed with her eyes, shielding with a hand, being blinded by the sun, shining directly down onto them. Nadjai paused; making sure her bag was securely closed, then she turned to her friend, shaking her head.

"Nah, I promised my mom I'd make dinner tonight." She grimaced. "I'm not sure what to make though; probably something easy … So, I need to go buy some ingredients." She shrugged, slinging the bag over the shoulder.

"Oh, I see. Then, I guess it is bye until tomorrow. Hope you survive and keep all of your fingers!" She waved and started walking the opposite direction of you, waving.

"Thanks for the encouragement!" She yelled after her, but she was gone long before. Nadjai shrugged, checking her wallet was still in her pocket, before she turned and walked to the convenience-store.

Muttering to herself, rambling different dishes and how they were made, she didn't notice the person stopping up in front of the red lights at the road cross. "Place taco in the oven for around 15 minutes with the heat on 22-" She mumbled, but got cut off, as she bumped directly into the person in front.

Loosing her balance _and _tripping in her shoelace the third time that day, she found herself (once again too) on the ground. "Umph …" The guy turned around, raising an eyebrow, as he saw the girl on the ground. Nadjai looked up at him, eyes half shut in pain – a pretty hard landing – just then she heard a _plop! _

"Wha'cha doing on 'e ground?" The red-haired boy asked, pulling in the light-pink bubblegum, interested looking directly back into her eyes. Her mouth dropped open. What _she _was doing? It was _him _suddenly stopping! Jeez …

But of course, being _kind, sweet _and _loving _she decided not to rip off his head. "Well, err … I'm not quite sure …" Her brow furrowed, as she tried coming up with the words. Apparently, that didn't go too well, so in stead she quickly stood up again, a little ticked off that she now had to _also _wash her uniform.

"You alright?" He asked, blowing yet another bubble. Nadjai just couldn't keep from staring at it … pretty pink. It seemed she got rather distracted by it, as the boy was forced to repeat his question. "Hey? You alright?"

She blinked a couple of times, focusing on him again. "Huh? Ah, yeah … I'm used to falling-"

"I-di-ot." He said, flicking your forehead. "Then, if you that unlucky, watch were you are going." He turned and started walking, since the lights had turned green quite some time ago. At first, Nadjai only looked at him, thinking what a weird person he was, but then she quickly crossed the street too, just before the lights turned again.

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

"Two packages of rice … Would three be better? There is of course a discount …" She once again muttered, walking by shelve after shelve, putting nearly everything in the story into the basket. There was only supposed to have been bought food for the dinner that evening, but with her shopping-gene it was rather hard, so it had been predicted at least ten pounds of candy would get picked from the shelves too.

That morning, her mother had first only given her enough for a decent meal, but just after having turned around, she smacked another bundle of bills into the girl's hands. "Just in case." She had said.

Nearing the counter, she came by the 'sugar'-apartment, the most dreaded by all super-shopping-alcoholics. Sometimes she wondered why it couldn't be placed in the _other _end, so that she didn't have to go through the Land of Temptation. But the answer came, right as she had asked the question – of course it was so that people like her would go crazy and buy a lot extra. Just another way of making money …

But this time she would prevail. She would go straight through, head high and NOT fall into the abyss. Keeping her eyes fixed on a point right ahead, she got closer and closer to the counter, still ignoring the sweet, wonderful smell of sugar …

_Toffees__ …_

_Jellybeans__ …_

_Lollipops …_

_Chocolate …_

"No, keep focused. Focused … Don't think about it …" She muttered, her eyes starting to wander off to the sides. "You'll only get Diabetes, get fat and not be able to fit into this year's winter collection … Remember that … It's only sugar … Might as well take an apple … Yes … Apple …"

"Oh! It's the new Apple Flavoured Gum!" A voice was heard up in front of her. She wailed out in her mind, eye starting to twitch. "I so much need at least ten packages! It's so delicious!"

Was it only her, or did her mouth start to water? Was she seriously _drooling_?! Up in front, just next to the cashier, the strawberry guy from earlier stood, holding up a piece of bubblegum, in green wrappings. Her eyes narrowed onto the target … that wonderful bubblegum … She sped up, aiming towards the guy, just when he was about to place it in his own basket (only filled with candy).

He had no idea how the bubblegum in his hand suddenly just evaporated. One second, he was standing there, looking at the price. The next, all of them was gone. It might have been the leprechauns … he thought, glancing around for small, green-dressed men or perhaps a clover with four leaves. He didn't see any, knowing they had probably already returned to Ireland to share the pray. _Or _… it might also have been the girl from earlier, standing with her arms full of _Green Flavoured Gum_, smirking like a madman, somewhat pretending to be Gollum, muttering "Mine, my own, my precious …" a couple of times.

_Leprechauns or Gollum?_

"Excuse me; but did you just take something from me?" He asked her, raising an eyebrow as she started rocking back and forth. But he quickly recoiled, when her unclear eyes turned upwards at him … and _especially _when she hissed.

"It's mine!"

"Well … I had it first …"

"It came to me! My precious! Gollum! Gollum!" (1)

"Aha … _This is starting to get weird_." He muttered, trying to reach out and take a package away from her. But she pulled away, snapping at him, nearly getting hold of a finger. "I just need one!" He said, reaching out again.

"Go away! It's mine!"

"I heard that already …" He sighed. "But I just need one, you crazy bubblegum obsessed freak."

_Silence …_

"Excuse me?" She snapped, returning to her normal self, now looking rather insulted. "Who do you call a _crazy bubblegum obsessed freak with a bad hair-day_?!" He opened his mouth the retort, that he actually hadn't mentioned the last part, but now she said it …

"Can't I just get one of them?" He asked with a sigh, giving up. It was absolutely not possible to reason with a madman (with a bad hair-day), so it had come to a compromise. "Else I won't be able to survive to tomorrow."

She glanced down onto all of them, guessing there was at least thirty. Then she picked one out, holding out to him, pouting. "Fine …" As he took it, she quickly turned around, shutting him out, telling that the conversation was over and he'd better get going.

"Thanks …" He said, going to pay. "I think?"

"Whatever …" He heard her response.

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

Your POV

_Plop! _The bubble burst, just as you sat down on the bench, waiting for the bus. Another bad thing happened, when your mother wasn't home – and that was; you had to take the _bus _home. She had explained it to you earlier, so you had a slight knowledge about it, you'd maybe be able to survive on your way home. _Maybe. _You watched a small child pass by, clinging onto his mother. You smiled a little, blowing another bubble now you were at it. Just then your cell phone vibrated, telling you had gotten a new message. You pulled it out of your pocket, fumbled a little with it, nearly dropping it and then flipped it open. Apparently, it was from an unknown number.

_Remember to make your homework; page 14-16, ALL tasks!_

_Regards – Koburaki, Senoku_

You stared at the screen in a complete loss of words. You didn't pay attention to your surrounding, nor the bus that stopped, holding for a couple of seconds, as the bus-driver tried getting into contact with you. You didn't see it drive off again or the strawberry-coloured boy running after it, almost catching up to it, but too late.

You only stared at the screen, wondering about a couple of things.

Where had your _teacher _gotten your number from, first of all?!

_Who _had given it to him? – Though you had an idea, the person's name starting with a R.

And, why the teachers had already stamped you as a person _not _making homework in time? It had only been two days! Did you have an aura around you, giving that impression of stupidity? Or … Your hand reached for you back. No, no signs saying: Flunk me!!!

But you got painfully dragged back into reality by a familiar voice. "God, not _you_ …"

Your head snapped upwards and once again came face to face with the guy in the store. "I could say the same to you, mister insult everyone nearby!" You snapped back. He sat down on the bench, as far away as possible – which was as far away as a toothpick (small bench). "Oi, oi, back off already!" You told him, trying to move a little away.

"You think I _enjoy _sitting next to you?" He motioned for the lack of space.

"Then stand, if I'm that contagious."

"Why don't _you _stand then? Seems like I'm just as contagious!"

"Bah! I was here first!"

"So what? I'm allowed to sit if I want to!"

"No, you mustn't! And that probably ain't your real hair colour!"

"What does that have to do with anything?!"

"Just wanted to point that out …" You muttered.

"…"

Both of you fell into silence, staring straight ahead of you, onto the moving cars. You blew air into the elastic bubblegum, creating a bubble. The same happened to the guy next to you. You glanced over, annoyed; his was starting to turn out better. You blew more into it and the same did he. Just when they were at the brick of bursting and unable to get any bigger, you launched at his with a finger, just when he did the same.

_Plop!_ x2.

And then, there you sat, both having your face covered in the sticky material. You turned your head and stared at him. "Goes well with your hair." You stated. You continued staring at each other, until both of you suddenly cracked a smile and began laughing.

_That was how you made yet another friend_.

"I'm Marui, Bunta." He stated, pulling a lump of pink stuff out of his hair. "I'm from Rikkai Dai too, class 1-2." He said, motioning to your uniform.

"Fujika, Nadjai, 1-1. Mind if I call you Strawberry-kun?"

"Yes."

"Going to anyways …"

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Watching yourself in a little, compact mirror; you tried getting the worst of the bubblegum out – at least in your hair. Bunta, sitting next to you, pushed his head in, directly in front of your own, blocking your view, only so he could get it out. "Oi, Strawberry-kun, you're blocking my way!" You hacked down on him, trying to push him away.

"Just a second, got some by my ear; rather annoying." He said, tucking at his red locks. You rolled your eyes, crossing them, as you trying to fix in on the tip of your nose.

"It didn't even taste that good …" You muttered.

"Nope."

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	7. PE and Racism?

Today we are going to play a nice game of football. And this is here I come into the picture to explain something. In this connection it is not _American Football _but football, also known as _soccer_. But where I come from it is known as football, and there's no way I'd change it! No?

Oh yeah, and also the teacher – I might say she's a coach somewhere in the story, but it's just … a P.E. instructor is rather a coach then a teacher. My opinion!

SORRY! If anyone thinks I'm being a racist with this! But I would like to point out, I DO NOT WANT TO HURT ANYONE WITH THIS! I don't think I will, as this is 'comedy' and I mean nothing about it! Therefore, please, no one, do take it to heart!

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**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

07 – P.E. and Racism?

Sometimes, you certainly _did _hate P.E.! Sometimes … And today was one of them. You had, so far, been introduced to a handful of sadistic teachers, who were all out to make you cry. But now you had met the worst! The others only buried you in homework, yelled at you for sleeping in class and sent you to the principal's office, twice – and to think this was only your third day in Middle School?! You started missing the good old – safe – elementary school …

But let's return to you ragging down the P.E. instructor. Not only was it a female looking _male_, but she had the captain's voice – tenfold –, an un-human punch – which you felt up close (she needed a test subject to _something) _– and the crazy idea that the losers would have to run around school ten times after class. Somewhat, you had this bad feeling you'd end up as the last mentioned …

"**Alright! Let's start by warming up with a little football!**" She said after having chased out the last girls from the changing-room. You looked around at the rest, spotting people, whom you were positive didn't go in your class. You guessed they were from some of the other freshmen classes and had P.E. together with yours. Just to get some friendship between the youngsters. Since that was the case, you started scouting around for people, you knew.

"Why are you craning your neck?" Riku asked you, interested watching the teacher argue with some 'Barbi'-girls. Apparently, they disagreed with the coach, when it came to physical activity. They thought, it was only _boys _who were supposed to play, not _girls_ – specially not girls, who had just had their nails done. Riku rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to you. "Hello?"

"Ah?" You looked back at her, nearly giving up in finding a familiar face among hundred of others. "I was just searching."

"Searching?"

"Yes, searching."

"Searching for what?"

"Well, since there are other classes here, I thought someone we knew might be here." You explained, your attention getting caught by the coach, wrestling(?!) with the Barbi-leader.

"That makes sense." Riku nodded, pulling a lot of air down her lungs. "But, do not worry, I'll take it from here!"

"Eh?"

"OI! SEIICHI-KUN! _GEN-CHAN!_" She smirked at the second name, just thinking about Sanada fretting when hearing it. "Anyone else?" She turned her attention back to you.

"Ya', could you do Strawberry-kun too?"

"Sure- Who?"

"Just someone I met on my way home yesterday."

"Ah. OH YEAH! STRAWBERRY-KUN TOO! GET OVER HERE RIGHT AWAY!"

You glanced at your friend. "Nice lung capacity …" You informed her. "You should try out for the swim team."

But then your attention got drawn to someone else; who was making his way through all of the freshmen, looking rather _pissed off_. You raised an eyebrow, wondering why. His face was almost red from anger and embarrassment, matching his hair quite well. "D-did you have to call me _that_ in public?" He asked; his face only a few inches from yours – your noses could almost touch.

You only smiled sweetly at him. "Wasn't me, it was my friend who yelled it out!" You flicked his nose-tip. "Guess we are even now!" Then you clapped your hands together, pushing him towards Riku. "And this is the friend; that can easily out-blow the Big Bad Wolf! Riku-chan, meet Strawberry-kun!" His eye twitched, while he exchanged greetings with your friend. But then you started inching closer to Bunta, giving him a _seducing _smile. He only stared at you.

"What?" He stated bluntly, knowing that you wanted something from him. "What is it that you need?"

You glomped him in a hug, whispering in his ear: "You got any bubblegum, I've run out."

"EH?!" He stared at you, eyes completely open, nearly popping out of their sockets. "You ate thirty packages in one day?!" You shrugged.

"Not alone, my mom helped me out!"

He sighed and messed around in his pockets. Then he pulled out a single piece, hanging it over to you, sighing. Just then Riku drew your attention back to her, as she called out once again, having spotted a buddy – or two. "Seiichi-kun! _Gen-chan_!" She chuckled, her voice turning into muttering. "Gen-chan … Ha! I never get tired of it …"

And right enough, Yukimura and Sanada both stood in front of you shortly after, both glaring a little at Riku, since they knew it was her, yelling out earlier. "You just had to call me that; didn't you?" Sanada asked, ticked off, referring to Riku. She only burst out in an evil laughter.

"Fufufu, yes, indeed I did!" She said, then completely ignoring him and turned to her beloved cousin in stead. "Seiichi-kun! My love!" She spread out her arms, as if waiting for a hug … a hug that never did come … "Ah …" She lowered them again, but only to find them around you shortly after, trying to turn you away from Bunta and over to your _destined partner_.

But you went directly past Yukimura and started talking to Sanada. "Gen-chan! Long time no see!"

The three others stared at you.

Riku: Definitely didn't go as planned. You were supposed to jump her cousin, going into fan-girl mode or something. Just anything!

Yukimura: You just ignored him or what?

Bunta: Well …

"_That _is Gen-chan?" He asked, grinning broadly, looking at Sanada. "_That guy_?!" You nodded happily, hugging your old friend close, even though he looked … disgusted. "I've seen you at tennis practice – you always look so stern! And to think you got a no-brainer following you, calling you _Gen-chan_!"

"Yeah! Don't you think it's _so _funny?!" Riku joined in on the evil laughter.

You only blinked a couple of times, not quite sure what they were talking about. Then you looked up at Sanada, hurt in your eyes. "Gen-chan …" You sniffed out loud. "Is there some other girl following you around? HAVE YOU GOTTEN A GIRLFRIEND?!" You wailed.

Everyone stared. Apparently, you didn't know that the _no-brainer _actually was you …

"NO! You can't have a girlfriend! We're supposed to be together forever!" You continued hugging him closer and closer, probably breaking a rip or two. "I- I thought you were going to take care of me until we grow old and can't get anywhere without a wheelchair!" Sanada looked a little freaked out after hearing his destined future, already being planned by you. "And she even calls you Gen-chan?! I thought it was only me, who could call you that!" You sobbing became louder and louder, drawing other peoples' attention towards you.

"Uhm …" Bunta started off, lifting a finger, as if trying to cut through. "I didn't mean it like that, Nadjai-chan-"

"_Jai._" You butted in.

"Yeah … I didn't mean it as if he got some other girl." Somehow this was starting to get awkward for him too. He didn't really want to explain personal affairs for someone else, but he had to, since he had started it all. "You see, the _no-brainer_, that was actually … you …"

_Silence …_

"Huh?" You blinked, looking at him, arms dropping to your side. "So, you are saying that …"

"You have no brain?" Riku suggested, smirking. This was actually leading towards something good – for her, that is. If now you got mad at the red-head _and _thought Sanada had some other girl; that would leave you heart-broken and abandoned. And who would she sent in by then?! Oh, yes, Yukimura! This was his chance!

Just as you were about to burst out crying once again, a voice cut through all the blabbering that went through the freshmen groups. "**Let's get started!**" The teacher yelled. You flinched, completely forgetting you had been in school in the first place. "**We have decided that, **_**if **_**girls do not wish to participate, they may stay at the line, cheering.**" It seemed the Barbies had won the fight for girls and boys are equal, except when it comes to P.E.** "But we will now make a small football tournament, six on each team!**" The teacher ordered.

And you had already forgotten those hurtful words you had just heard, and in stead clapped your hands together, beaming. "Yay! Football!" Then you pointed to them all, counting on the other hand. "Hm … We're only five …" But then the coach walked over to you.

"Are you a team?" She asked.

You nodded. "Yup. Yet we need one more …"

"Don't worry, I'll find someone spare."

She then disappeared once again among all the freshmen, dividing them into teams. You looked around at them all, suddenly the captain deep inside of you taking over. "Right! Anyone, who got really good reflexes?" You looked around at them all. "Anyone? No one?" You paused, taking a few notes in your mind. "Alright, then we'll wait with the goalkeeper until later. Then, anyone, who has ever tried _playing _football before?"

_Silence …_

"Ah …" You followed your chin with a finger, thinking. "Not at all … How odd …"

"Have you?" Bunta asked, his smirk widening as you didn't answer the question, but in stead grinned goofily. "Then we are beginners."

"Hm … But I _hate _losing." You whined. "Fine! Then we'll say this!" You told them all their positions quickly, hushing them, if they tried saying something against it.

Riku – Defence. You told her to: "Kill everyone who get's near – leave no one alive!"

Strawberry – Defence. His job was to: "Get the ball even if it kills you! Protect the goal at all costs!"

Yukimura – Mid-field. Mission in life: "Just … Don't let them pass, that's all I ask!"

Sanada – Offence. Bunny tells him to: "GET 'EM GEN-CHAN! KILL!"

You – Offence.

"And I just got to take them out silently before they get to the ball." You smiled at them all. "Got it?" Bunta nodded happily, thinking this was starting to get more exciting after he met you. The others were little more … nervous for what would happen, since they had had a day more to know you in – and that was enough to tell you were completely crazy. Of course, Sanada had known you a little longer, which was sort of relieving … He was _still _alive.

The first match started off pretty good. None of the teams were really that good, but just tried kicking the ball back and forth. Hey! As long as it is fun, it's alright. No? Though, while you tried making out tactics, you noticed that so far no girls had participated. _How boring …_ You thought. But the match ended shortly after, as the time had only been set to five minutes – else you'd never get to the finals.

Another one started, just as the teacher walked over, a boy right behind her, looking not really comfortable. "Well, I found your sixth man." She said, motioning for him. You looked him up and down, while the teacher walked over to her helper, as he wrote down the score of the latest match.

"Hello!" You said happily, jumping over. He looked at you. And then … you turned racist. "Ah! Why are you black?" You asked, pointing. The rest behind you gaped, thinking you were a complete idiot and so(!) dense.

"Are you a racist?" He asked; staring dumbfounded at you.

"Well-" Yukimura decided it would be best that someone butted in, before you got out into another pile of trouble. "I don't think she means anything like that." He patted your head, while you continued beaming at the new guy. "I'm not even sure she knows the word …" He looked you into the eyes. "Nadjai-chan-"

"Jai!"

"Right. _Jai, _do you know what racism is?"

You blinked innocently a couple of times; then entered a slumber of thoughtfulness. Suddenly you hit your hands together. "No, I'm not racist! I _do _buy ecologically whenever I can!"

"…"

You looked from one to another, somewhat feeling rather proud of yourself. You knew what racist meant! Yukimura exchanged looks with the other. "See?" He ruffled your hair again, guiding you over to Riku. "She didn't mean anything about it!" Though, he was rather shocked, as he stared back at you. _Ecologically? _

"I'm Fujika, Nadjai by the way!" You said, waving at him.

"Ah … Jackal Kuwahara …" He muttered, feeling more and more uncomfortable in the company he had just ended up in.

"Jackal-kun then! Is it okay if you are the goalkeeper? Or do you rather want to be something else?" You asked, finally able to fill out the last, empty spot for the team.

"That's fine …"

"Alright!"

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Even though your team had been filled out, you didn't really have that long to play as _something _went wrong. The first match you had only lasted for two and a half minute, as you managed to _take them out silently before they get to the ball_. Only problem was, that in stead of _them _it was poor Riku, who was your victim.

As the other team attacked, you tackled one of them and Riku, yelling for you to play her, apparently wasn't that good at dodging … And it made a direct impact with her head, knocking her out right away.

… You used the rest of those two P.E. hours sitting with her in the infirmary …

And that was why; you never did like Physical Education.

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	8. Checkmate

I hope you all enjoy chess as much as I do, since this is a 'chess' episode. Hehe, but I'm trying to do it as easy as possible!

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**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

08 – Checkmate

Normal POV

She was still alive. She was still alive and she still had every single limp intact and stuck on her body. And it had been nearly an entire week by then. It was now Saturday; her life as a Middle School student had started Monday. That was five days! Five! A lot of things had happened and she was still alive … pretty impressive, if she may say so. Then again, she had had backup from her new friends.

Your POV

Riku-chan! The girl from your class. No connection between brain and mouth – talking before thinking, but still cunning when it came to certain things. For example if she wanted someone to end up together, they usual did. Her next project was apparently you, trying to forge you together with her cousin. You weren't quite sure _why_?

Yukimura, also known as Yuki-kun. The cousin. Quite straightforward and always know when to cut in, just before things goes out of hand (mostly if you and Riku are in the room). He's sort of honest and cuts to the chase. Though, you thought he had a little _fright _against his cousin – perhaps an experience from early childhood? A really great tennis player.

Gen-chan! The merry-go-lucky guy, who- Alright; let's not try to fool anyone, won't work anyways. He might be a rather apprehensive guy, not talking very much, unless it is something important. Sometimes he could say something, if he wanted to. And he _still _didn't seem to like Yuki-kun, as they had had an encounter earlier on. But a good guy! Good friend for a long time. Practises kendo and tennis – rules at both of them!

Strawberry-kun (a.k.a. Bunta); a total sugar-freak; obsessed with bubblegum and always got a package on him. Cocky, cheerful and somewhat thinks he is the _God _of tennis. If you want to live, do _not _call him Strawberry-kun, but if you want a great laugh, _do_.

Jackal-kun. Got a bad firsthand-impression of you, as you somewhat turned out to be a racist in his eyes … Since you mentioned his colour, but you have been cleared. He is still a little unsecure if you are a mentally unstable person, or that you just don't know what you are thinking and saying.

Normal POV

She scribbled a last few words down in the diary before closing it. Then she once again locked it with the golden key and placed it in the drawer next to her bed. Then she lay down again, looking up at the ceiling, thinking back at the first week. Nadjai wondered, what the others were doing at the moment, and if she should perhaps call them and see, if they might wanted to do something together.

But just as she turned and faced the phone on the night-desk, her mother called from the hall. "Honey! Hurry up, your dad's already waiting in the car!" She stretched and got up again. Through the door and out into the hallway, where, at the end, her mother stood, tapping her foot against the floor. "He'll leave without you if you don't hurry."

She rolled her eyes, slipping on her shoes. "Yeah, yeah, sure he will. Then he doesn't have anyone to play with." Her mother handed over her coat from the rack on the wall, and she quickly pulled it on. Then she walked out the door, saying bye to her mom.

In the driveway a blue Suzuki waited, engine already running and her dad's head stuck out like a dog's – the barking was there too. "Oi, move it, snail." He ordered. She slipped in on the seat next to his. Then the car finally could start and they moved out onto the road. Her dad, brown hair sticking out everywhere (therefore her bad hair-days, thank you) and dark brown eyes shining bright, really was a child, even though he had already turned forty. If she ever needed a partner to play Twister, he was ready!

And perhaps now it would be a good time to explain where on Earth the two of them were going? In any case, as mentioned, her dad was a rather happy _kid_, and always wanted the best for everyone. Didn't matter if you were young or old, everyone deserved a proper life. So, armed with his faithful daughter, every second Saturday they took down to the nearest park, where the old men 'hang out' and played chess against each other.

For them to have some _proper _challengers was also fun enough; and so the two was _young victims_. Of course, she really liked playing chess, honestly enough, it wasn't something she was forced into! Chess was fun … except when she faced off against some old man smoking pipe. She hated that smell!

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"Checkmate." Her father said, moving the tower-shaped Rook one step forward, ending the game. The old man on the other side of the small table, chuckled and tipped over his king.

"Indeed!" Came his crispy response. They thanked each other for the game and the other stood up, making yet another take the seat. Nadjai watched how her father began another game; then she turned to look, if there was any empty places or if anyone needed a person to play. At the present time, it didn't seem like it, so she moved for a bench, where she quickly sat down.

Not far away a couple of kids were playing on the swings, happily yelling at each other, trying to see, who could get most power into it and aimed for the sky. The sky was clear, not a single cloud. Only a baby-blue world. God, she loved these kinds of weekends! Just then she felt a light tap on her shoulder and her head turned a little.

There he stood; Yanagi-san, one of the people, who came here pretty much every weekend to play. He was one of her favourite old buddies and they often played together. He had sworn he'd never stop play unless he could defeat her, and apparently, today was yet another day to try. "Ah, Yanagi-san, is it time again?" She asked politely.

He nodded. "If you wouldn't mind?"

And so, she sat at a table, slowly putting up piece by piece. Today she was white, once again. "White moves first." He said, waiting for her move. The first thing she did – the same move she used every time – was to move a pawn to e4. Then it was his turn.

As the game continued, she noticed something unusual. Yanagi-san kept on looking back at a younger boy – around her age – standing right behind him, watching every move, taking it all in. She watched as they talked together – not that she minded, but she was a little curious. Then her opponent moved yet another piece and she discovered that it was nothing like he used to do. This was more … professional? She glanced up at the guy, smirking a little – starting to get interesting, eh?

She made a countermove, protecting her queen by instead sacrificing a mere knight. "Nice move." She congratulated him, glanced sideway up. His eyes were still closed … Could people see through closed eyes? Just a thought …

It continued, and for each move and for each time, the two talked together, whispering, she was sure it was the boy controlling the game. She sacrificed another pawn and waited for the next move. Once again the two talked among each other and he moved another piece. She watched it, trying to figure out what they were up to – and how she could stop their plan.

Then she saw it, within two moves, she would be checkmate, unless she did something to prevent that from happen before. But before then, something else had to be stopped: "Check." The old man said, as his knight threatened her king.

She grimaced, looking around on the different pieces across the board, trying to think a few moves ahead. If she made _one _single mistake, then she would suddenly find herself checkmate.

"Let's see …" She muttered under her breath, as lowly as possible, so they wouldn't hear her hesitate. But of course, she noticed, the 'Shadow King' looked over at her. She sighed heavily, trying to figure their plan out. Then in the end she only moved a pawn, capturing the enemy's. Her eyes kept wandering up to the other 'child', and this time she noticed him bend his head a little – as if telling, it was a nice move. Well, what did she know? In stead, discarding the idea, she watched the game continue.

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Your POV

"Checkmate." You said, feeling relieved that you had still been able to win, even though the game had been more challenging than usual. But you had still been able to pull it off and locked his king's movements. Trapped it in the corner. And _BAM! _– stabbed it with the pointy end of the bishop. If it weren't because Chess was a rather stoic game, you would have pointed a finger at the boy and laughed evilly, celebrating your victory. But … you didn't. In stead you thanked Yanagi-san for the game and he congratulated you with your victory.

_I know; I know … I'm just so good! _You thought in your mind, placing the pieces to their rightful spots on the board. The same happened with the black ones and then the game had been completed. "Well, I guess I have to try again some other time."

"Any time you want, I highly enjoy playing you." You said, smiling. The old man nodded and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. This made your attention turn towards him once again – perhaps now he'd get introduced? _About time._

"This is my grandson, by the way. Renji Yanagi. I guess you noticed him helping me out under the game-?" He asked and you nodded slowly, greeting the boy. "I got to say, he's a great chess player. Perhaps …" He paused, looking down onto the board and up at you again. "You two should play each other?"

And so you found yourself facing off against the Shadow King. This was going to be a _real _challenge. But you had taken it up and your pride would get damaged if you ran away now. Especially if you ran away _screaming_. Once again, white started off, and you – being black this time – had to wait. He moved the pawn to e4, just as you had done in the last game against his grandfather. You always had a certain way of playing, probably a bad habit or something – and he seemed to have the same?

You too moved a pawn, sliding it across the board to e5, so the two faced each other. You smirked, knowing exactly what you were up to; you had a plan. He then put a hand onto his queen and moved it across to h5. You then moved a knight and your brow furrowed.

Where had you seen these moves before? They were so familiar, yet you could not remember from where. His bishop moved. Out of instinct you moved the other knight, trying to block of his attack. Your eyes moved over the board, trying to make out move after move. As a chess-player, you had to be able to predict at least three moves ahead. Else you'd have no chance.

And just then it hit you. You knew where you had seen these moved from. Your mouth dropped and you looked up at him, just while his hand moved for the queen again. He smiled at you, eyes still closed. "Right after the book." He stated.

He took over one of your pawns, queen standing right by your king. This was the _Scholar's mate_. He had used one of the oldest tricks in the world on you. The first ever play a chess-player learned. How to move, so the other easily falls into the trap …! To leave the king completely open! This certain game had you played so many times with your father, when you had first begun playing! It had been burned into your memory and without knowing, by instinct, you had moved straight into the opponents trap.

"Checkmate." He said.

You nodded, sighing. Then, with a single finger, you moved out and tipped over your king. "Your win." You stated, smiling (sourly). Did you really loose? _Aw man …_ You sighed (notbeing the best loser in the world),putting back the pieces. "I can't believe I fell for that old trick; sort of embarrassing." You smiled, this time genuine. It couldn't be helped, he was better than you. Or … you were just really bad? You decided to stick with the first mentioned.

"I might not have been able to finish you off this quickly, if I hadn't watched your earlier game." He said, standing up.

"Ah … So you are saying I'm too predictable?" You laughed, scratching your head. "I guess that's true enough, I'm used to just playing the same and I got a couple of bad habits."

Finally, someone had been able to say to you:

"_Checkmate_."

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	9. Office of a Principal

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**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

09 – Office of a Principal

Normal POV

_Beep! Beep! Beep! Bee- CRASH! _Slowly, she opened her eyes, staring up at the ceiling. Then she yawned, stretching. But an irk mark appeared on her forehead, as her brow furrowed. "Where did the crash come from …?" She wondered out loud, remembering the loud sound from just a second ago. "Oh …" She knew. Turning her head, she stared at the yellow alarm, that – a little scared of her probably – flashed a couple of times, the snooze-button completely destroyed.

Her eye twitched. "_Oh!_" She repeated, sitting up. Shaking it a little, listening to the insides rattle, she shook her head. "Got to go buy a new one too then …" Placing it back on the table again, she put her feet down onto the ground, but pulled them back up right away. The floor was apparently cold that morning. Looking for her slippers, that had tried hiding(?) under her bed, she then made her way out in the kitchen.

Here she found her mother, in the middle of _trying _to make an American breakfast – at sorts. She shook her head, walking over to the hotplate. Quickly she turned down for the heat under the eggs, as something was starting to smell burned. "Good morning." She chimed, pulling out a chair and sat down.

"'morning, sweetheart." Her mother retorted from the tip of the newspaper. She was leaning against the kitchen-counter, reading the newest exciting things going on in Japan – in stead of paying attention to her food. Nadjai rolled her eyes, reaching out for the milk on the table. While pouring up a glass, she looked out the window.

It seemed it would probably rain later on that day, as grey and black clouds slowly filled the sky. She made a memo to herself about bringing an umbrella, and then she turned her gaze back to the chef and the food. "The bacon's burning." She stated, taking a sip of the milk. 

"Ah!" Watching her mother trying to save the leftovers; sending them – in stead – flying through the room. She moved her head just a little bit, avoiding a sizzling piece of ham. She rolled her eyes, as her mother went to the last resort. She turned on the water in the sink and placed the hot pan in there.

Shortly after, steam had filled the room – and the food was completely ruined. "You know … I'll just take some cereals." She muttered, taking a bowl from a shelve, along with a spoon and some Cheerio's.

Then she ate her breakfast in peace and quiet, having her mom depressed next to her, trying to get through the eggs. "Better luck next time …"

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Just as the bus came to a hold, only a little way from school, and she stepped out, the first drop fell. She looked up at the darkening sky and then she started walking quickly for the school gates.

"Don't start just yet!" She begged, having – even though trying to remember it the entire morning – forgotten her umbrella. "I don't want to be wet!" She whined, now turning into a run in stead, as more and more drops started falling. She shielded her head with her bag, wanting to at least having a normal hair-day today!

She finally passed the gates into school, just as the bell rang. But unfortunately, God wasn't finished with tormenting her. Crossing the yard, making her way by the fountain, having her eyes too fixed on the doors in front of her, she didn't see the bag sprawled over the ground. _And so she tripped. _Face down, of course hitting a small pond of water that had gathered. There she lay, getting muddy water into her eyes and mouth, drenched and with water falling from the sky.

Normally, when tripping, she lay there for a few minutes, trying to figure out, what had happened, but this time she didn't. She would drown in that time. Quickly pushing herself up with her hands, she spluttered, trying to get the gross water out of her mouth. Wiping her eyes, coughing, she then heard the sound of something moving.

Missing with her eyes, she saw someone sitting at the edge of the fountain, watching her. "That looked pretty cool." He stated, smirking at her. He then bowed down and picked up his bag, brushing it off. She did the same with hers, making sure her books were alright and undamaged. They were and she turned her attention back to the boy.

Because of the rain, getting into her eyes, hanging from her eyelashes, her view was blurry, making her unable to see him clearly. But she was able to make out the spiky, silvery hair and cocky smile. "Perhaps you shouldn't let your bag lay, where people can trip up in it." She said, a little annoyed at him.

"Perhaps _you _should look where you are going in stead?" He retorted, taking something out from his bag. She wiped her eyes again, trying to see the label on the small bottle. But just as he opened, the bell rang in a second time – classes had already started.

Her eyes widened and she cursed lowly. "I'm not done with you!" She said, pointing to the boy. Then she turned on her heels, heading for the doors. Perhaps if she sprinted, she'd be able to get to the classroom before the teacher – he'd maybe just finish his coffee first.

The silver haired boy looked after her, chuckling. Then, as the doors closed after her, he emptied the liquid into the messy water of the fountain. The pink _stuff _got mixed with the other and a bubble surfaced … followed by another … and another. He laughed and stood up; he'd better get going too.

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Of course she hadn't made it in time. Of course the teacher just had to have a coffee-free day _that _day. Of course he had to be in a foul mood because of that too. Of course _she _had to be the victim, his sandbag to let out all that build up steam. _Of course _she had to be sent to the principal's office – just because she snapped back at him! … Really fair …! Yeah, right.

So there she sat, on a small, uncomfortable chair, facing the principal's secretary. She glanced up at her a couple of times, but then turned her attention back to her nails, which she was busy polishing. Nadjai shifted her weight a little, feeling restless. Her attention was pulled towards the windows, where the rain was drumming against the glass. She pondered what the boy had been up to, and what that weird fluid had been.

The sound of a phone ringing, she got pulled back into the reality and she glanced back at the secretary. The blonde woman with (really!) red lipstick picked it up and pressed it against her ear. "The principal's office, what can I do for you?" She listened to whoever on the other end, nodding. "Aha, yes, yes. I will tell him that. Yes, yes, bye." Once again she hung up.

Then she pressed a button to the speaker into the principal. "Yonishi-sensei has just called; he's unable to come today-"

Nadjai decided it was nothing important for her to listen in on, and so she just stared at her feet. Slowly she closed her eyes, only listening to her surroundings. Also because her eyes still was stinging from earlier. The sound of the clock ticking over the door; the pouring rain outside and the secretary typing away on the computer, muttering something about discount nail polisher. 

A muffled voice was heard from the speaker, Nadjai guessed it was the principal. The secretary answered him quickly and then looked at her. "You can go in now." Nadjai nodded and scrambled to her feet. Then, with shaking legs, she walked over to the door to the office. Her hand lingered for a split second on the handle, but then she pressed it down and entered.

There he sat, in front of two large windows, making him able to keep an eye on the school yard. He was sitting at a pretty much huge desk (the size of her bed, she thought) and looking straight at her, as she entered. "Uhm …" She started off, but before she could say anything else, he cut in.

"So, what have you done this time?" He asked, leaning over in his chair. Nadjai walked closer and took a seat on the small chair in front of him. Of course, she knew him _quite well_ already, as she had been visiting him a couple of times by then – just because her teachers thought it to be good.(?) Actually, he wasn't that scary a person and quite mild … when it came to normal things as talking back at your teacher for example. But perhaps he was starting to get mildly annoyed at her, since this wasn't her first time coming up to him.

"Well …" She started off, fidgeting with her skirt. "You see, I was on my way to school and I was running, since it was raining." He nodded slowly, telling her to continue. "But as I passed through the yard, I suddenly tripped over a bag, lying on the ground. There was this … person, and he was in the middle of putting something in the fountain …"

"Putting something in the fountain?" The principal repeated. She nodded and was about to speak again, when the door flew open. She turned in her chair, shocked. In the door, a teacher, whom you did not know, stood – out of breath and trying to say something. The principal raised an eyebrow. "Yes?" He asked, motioning for him to start talking.

"T-the-" Apparently he had been running or something, as he was barely able to stand.

"What is it already?" The principal snapped, loosing his patience.

"Someone … has put something in the fountain!"

Nadjai's eyebrow quickly went up, just thinking it of a hell of a perfect timing. Apparently, whatever the boy had put in it; seemed to be something of great _danger_? The principal sighed and stood up. Before he left the room with the other teacher, he turned and looked at her. "Do you know what he looked like?" He asked.

She slowly shook her head. "I was unable to see it because of the rain-" She said – that was true, except she had seen _something_, for example the colour of his hair and so on. But she somewhat had a feeling, she perhaps shouldn't say it? It would might turn out interesting …

"Ah …" He doubtfully looked at her. "Stay here and don't move until I get back!"

And so he left the room, leaving her completely alone … in the most powerful man in school's office. She glanced at the speaker to the school, smirking. "Hm …?"

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Your POV

You were now finding yourself firmly tied(!) to the chair, the secretary guarding over you like a hawk. And that would probably be since you had acted out a scene from Romeo and Juliet. What? Just because it was so darn hard to resist …?

In the end you had literally jumped the speaker and preformed, but you hadn't been able to do more than one scene; before the secretary had managed to break down the door and tackled you.

You glanced at her, standing by the door, watching you. Chuckling lowly, you moved a little in the chair as your hands started turning numb. "Uhm …" You said, looking at her. "Couldn't you release me now? I swear I won't do anything." She only raised an eyebrow, shaking her head shortly.

"No."  
"Ah …" _Didn't think so either. _"But really … isn't this against some law or whatever do I know? Tying up a student? No? Darn it …" You then started watching your own feet, scurrying them over the carpet, trying to make friction – you just loved giving off electric waves, and you certainly knew who, you were going to use it on.

The secretary rolled her eyes, but then she heard footprints on the other side of the door. She quickly moved to the side, just when the door burst open, showing off the principal (pretty much fuming) having a firm grip on a silver-haired boy. The elderly man walked over to his desk, but not before placing the boy on a chair next to you.

You glanced at him and he glanced at you, raising an eyebrow as he saw you were tied up. The same noticed the principal and looked at the secretary. "Why is there a student tied up in my office?" He asked.

"She was using the speaker to-"

"SO IT WAS YOU!" He roared, pointing a finger towards you. Your eyebrow went flying for yet another time that day. "I knew it …" He muttered. "You _were _working together …"

Now it was your turn to exchange looks with the boy. _Working together? _"Eh?" You asked, somewhat not really sure what was going on. "What do you mean by that? I'm not working together with him! I don't even know who he is! And further more, if I was to do something – I only work _solo_!"

"So you do something, eh?"

Your mouth dropped. "… Didn't say that …"

"Well, you can't play innocent with me! I can see when people are lying!" _Apparently not … _You thought, shaking your head, yet he continued. "While brat number 1 was putting soap into the fountain-" _So it was soap, huh? _"Brat number 2-" _Oi, oi! _"Innocently goes to class, where she insults the teacher to the point, where she gets sent of to this office. Here, she waits until I've left the room, _then _she strikes! Using the speaker to disturb all classes in school … Yes …" He nodded slowly. "I can see it now … a very, well-thought plan indeed … But there was something, you did not think about! And that was me! I figured you out-"

Deciding that the principal would continue blabbing for quite some time, you turned your head at the boy, smiling lazily. He just grinned, giving you the thumps up. Apparently, he liked what you had done or what? Well, you would have given him the thumps up too, if it just weren't because you were … well, busy with something else.

"-But I will give you a long time to get to know each other better!" The principal then said, making you listen once again. "When you are sweeping _all _the halls and classrooms in the entire school!"

Your jaw dropped, as you stared at him. "EH!" You exclaimed, fidgeting in the chair. "You can't do that! Well … you can … but! Then we're taking the job away from the janitor! What should he do then! How will he support his family! I'll hold you responsible if we suddenly read in the newspaper, that his entire family has been found dead – because they couldn't afford food! _And _had to eat his arms first!"

Silence …

But then … "Yeah, you do that. Now, please untie her, would you?" He asked, this time talking to the secretary. And so you got untied. Slowly, you stood up trying to get life back into your legs. The principal walked for the door, holding it pen for the two of you. "Now, get out. Report at the _poor _janitor's office after classes-"

Rolling your eyes, you walked over. But just as you walked by him, you smirked, holding out a finger towards him. "ZAP!" You yelled, poking him. And so … _Electric wave attack_. The principal jumped, but before he had had a chance of yelling at you, you had already left the office, yelling yourself. "RUN FOR IT!"

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As you entered class, the bell had just rang out, indicating it was recess and you were lucky, and didn't bump into any of your teachers. Then, you guessed, you would have been doomed. In stead you were greeted as a hero – want to know why? The answer came a few seconds later …

"I swear; I'm going to flunk that girl over and over again! There's no way she's going to leave this place alive." That was slightly disturbing, hearing how the principal apparently planned to kill you … but also highly entertaining, as it was heard over the _speaker …_ You knew perfectly well, that you had _never _turned it off – and so the entire school had probably heard the conversation between you and the principal.

Finally the principal noticed this, as a teacher had entered the room to inform them of a little _problem … _"WHAT! IT'S ON!" You chuckled. _Sucker _… Riku ran over, grinning broadly.

"That was so awesome! Nice Romeo-impression!"

"Thanks."

She held up her hand. "Give me five!" She said. You raised your hand too, but in stead of slamming it against her hand; you dug into your pocket, rustling through it. Shortly after, you took it out again, counting the small coins. "Well … I only got 3,75 … Wait, 4!" You looked up at her. "Is it okay if I give you the last one tomorrow?"

She only stared. Was that girl retarded or what! Yet you only beamed at her, continuing with sticking out the money for her to take. In the end she gave up and took the small coins …

"Err … Thanks …"

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Normal POV

Nadjai stared at the sign, hanging right next to the door. _Janitor's office. _"Got to be it." She muttered. Then she sighed, leaning against the wall. After classes, even though she had tried sneaking out and away from school grounds, she had been dragged back by a couple of teachers, whom had all predicted her movements. She would have rather gone to tennis practice- No, wait … scratch that. But still. She sighed.

Was she actually going to sweep everything in school! Nadjai looked down the hall … even that looked impossible … Just then she heard a sound from the other end and turned her head quickly. There he came. Her 'partner in crime' apparently, as the two of them had been called by Riku. He stared at her, and then leaned against the wall too, giving her the V-sign. "Cheers." He greeted.

"Ah … Yeah …" She answered back lamely.

"Oh, yeah, I never did get the chance to congratulate you on a well-preformed prank! That sure was high-classed!" He said, once again grinning broadly. "Not as good as mine though, of course …" He then said, making her roll her eyes. "But then again, I _am _the trickster of this school!"

Her eyebrow went flying (again) and she interested looked at him. "Oh yeah? _Trickster_, eh?"

"Yup!"

"Hm … And I, who thought, that being a trickster, you're supposed to _pull a trick _on someone, not 'destroying' school property – that only makes you a vandal." He glared a little at her, but she continued. "But, whatever! Doesn't matter! A trick is a trick no matter how you look at it! And putting soap in the fountain when it's raining, I guess that's a trick too … So, do tell me, Mister Trickster, what is your real name?"

"My earthy name is Masaharu Niou." He said.

She stared. _Earthly name? _"O-kay … I am Fujika Nadjai! But people just call me Jai!"

And so! She had gotten yet another friend! The self-proclaimed Master Trickster of Rikkai Dai!

But then the janitor had arrived. As he unlocked the door into his office, he talked to Nadjai. "Oh yeah, thanks for worrying, but I don't mind you are doing my job – I still get paid!"

She laughed nervously, having forgotten she had actually talked _bad _about the janitor … over the speaker. "Sorry 'bout that …"

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	10. Cleaning Equals Death

This one is sorta short, just so you know! I liked writing it in the first place and had oh! so many ideas for it … but then, as I went to bed and started again the next day … _PUFF! _It was all gone! Isn't it sad? But actually ... Now that I've looked just how many words it actually is, I don't think it's that bad. 2600 words or something! Pretty good, no?

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

10 – Cleaning equals Death

Normal POV

She was starting to wonder, looking through her entire life. _When _did she insult God so much, that he would torment her for eternity! WHEN! There she stood, outside the janitor's office, waiting for your buddy, the trickster. Slowly, her hand moved up and down the broom, absentminded, as she waited. In one hand, she held a broom and in the other a bucket. She had also stuck a mob in under her elbow, trying to hold it. _And _on top of her head was a few cloths for wiping off dust apparently – or so she had been told.

She then heard the door opening and closing behind her and she turned around – as much as possible, without dropping anything. There Niou stood, _only _holding a broom, which he had casually slung over his shoulder. "Wauw … you sure are going down under all that pressure, aren't you?" She asked sarcastic. He only shrugged.

"I might just handle …" He said, grinning broad – so much for it being hard … He glanced at ALL the things she was holding, making his smirk go up yet another notch. She rolled her eyes, trying to keep the cloths on top of her head, as they slowly started slipping down. "Aw … Stay!" She ordered, only making them run further down. "Nu-uh! No! Stay! I said STAY! STAYYYY!"

Niou watched her in entertainment, as she thought _yelling _at them would do the job. Unable to use her hands, so forced to use her shoulder in stead, the mob also started slipping. "Wah! WAH! Stop!"

Fast forward a few seconds, shall we? We all know what happens in those few seconds. She keeps on fighting with keeping the balance, more and more slips and now …

_SPLAT! _Once again – for whatever time that week, she found herself sprawled out over the ground. The cloths had scurried over the ground, a couple of feet away. The broom was lying across her legs, the bucket on top of her head and the mob … well, the mob was nowhere to be seem apparently, but had been replaced by a hole through the window.

All of that was followed by a couple – or hundred? – curse words. "You alright?" Niou asked, sounding _very_ worried. Cough, cough, yeah right!

"Do I look alright?" She retorted; annoyed pushing herself up and started picking up her stuff. "Thanks for _not _helping."

"Any time."

"I-di-ot."

"Says who?"

Rolling her eyes, she started following the janitor, as he had walked out of the office and down the hall. Niou chuckled once again and started to walk after the two, quickening his pace, as he was a little behind. "Oi! Wait for me!"

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"Alright, you little vandals!" The janitor started off, pointing towards the first classroom in the hall. "This is the _worst _roomand me being nice, I'll let you start off with that at first – then all the easy parts comes later on." Nadjai stared into the room, feeling a little … odd. Especially as she looked at the sign next to the door, telling what class it was. 1-1.

Why was _her _classroom looking like a battlefield? And _why _did it look as if someone had been murdered in the corner! And bloody Hell _WHY _was there hanging a dead bird from one of the lamps! "It looks like this every day." The janitor stated and left the room to the two of them.

Nadjai laughed nervously, walking after Niou, closing the door. The trickster looked up at the bird, poking it with his broom. Somewhat, while he took down the bird and put into a bucket and she noticed a wicked smile _gracing _his face, she had a horrible idea … A horrible idea, that _that _bird would be used for some crazy trick or whatever. "Err …" She started off, but then he turned towards her.

"Are you with me? I'm thinking of revenge on the principal."

Scratch the earlier sentence. What a _wonderful _idea!

"Oh, I _so _very with you! I will make him wish he was DEAD and walking through the pits of the underworld! BURNING!" She exclaimed, thinking of the sweet, _sweet _revenge. Oh, yeah! Niou rolled his eyes, placing the bucket on a table. Then he picked up his broom in stead and started lazily sweeping the floor. Nadjai watched him for a couple of seconds, but then, after being smacked on top of the head, she quickly joined him. She sighed annoyed, trying to reach down under one of the shelves.

A few seconds later, she was wailing out in pain, as she had stretched her back a little _too _much. Lying across the floor – for the umpteenth time – holding her back, Niou watched her interested. "Aha …"

"IT HURTS! IT HURST!"

"Whatever ..." Niou muttered, as he once again starting to sweep up; he actually _wanted _to go home that day. "Just get over it as soon as possible, I don't want to do it all alone." And so he only continued, not caring she were in great pain. So much for being friends or what?

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Your POV

"Can … Reach!" You tried reaching for one of the corners to get the cobweb, glancing around on the lookout for any … _hairy creatures_, as Niou had been so nice to tell you a story about earlier. "Itchy-bitchy spider-" The _evil _trickster whistled happily, just when he passed by you, taking out the trash. You laughed nervously, standing a little further out on the chair, now keeping your balance only by using your toes. Then you finally managed to wriggle the cobweb around the small, handhold broom.

"GOT IT!" You cackled evilly, but … _Smack! _You tripped over the chair, slammed your head into the wall and afterwards hit the ground. _Clack! _"WAHH!"

Niou stared. You should go see a doctor about that spine of yours? And that was when he saw something even _more _entertaining, crawling up your arm. Your eye twitched, while you slowly turned your head a little – even though you felt a lot of pain. There it was, the eight-legged freak, crawling up your arm, happily and unaware of the horror and terror it gave to a little girl.

"GET IT OFF ME! GET IT OFF!"

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"So … which one of us gets the swimming pool? And who takes the changing-rooms?" The trickster asked, putting out his hand to do the Rock-Paper-Scissor; Battle of the Masters. You shook your head, putting out yours too.

"Just so you know, I never loose in this! I want the changing-rooms!" You stated. "Best out of three!" You made your hand into a fist, smirking. "Rock-Paper-Scissor!" You used a 'paper' on him (real powerful), but found yourself losing. "Nuh! Right! There's still a chance! Chance, chance!" Once again you made your hand into a fist and battled the trickster. "Rock-Paper-Scissor!" This time you took a more powerful weapon, the 'rock', but … 'paper' beats 'rock' … stupidly enough. "NO WAY! You're cheating!" You exclaimed, pointing to him. He only rolled his eyes, picked up a mob (you had gotten a few extra after the first one went flying) and then he walked into the first of the changing-rooms.

Then, in the mean time, you turned towards the depths of the pool, the sparkling water and the smell of chloride. Your eye twitched. _Ah … _Then you picked up a net-thingy, shaped as a broom and walked for the edge of the water. It seemed your mission was to clean up the worst of it all. All those _weird _things floating through the water and stuff like that.

"Yummi …" You muttered, plunging the net into the water. You hummed to yourself as you walked around the edge a couple of times. A sound of something toppling over came from the room next door, where you knew Niou was, and you glanced over towards it. _Wonder if he got crushed under a bench or something …_ You smirked. _Might improve him a little, no? _You grinned and continued with cleaning the pool, whistling innocently – even though it was followed by quite a lot more crashes and so on. "You alright!" You called out to him, but only got answered by silence.

Complete and utmost silence.

"Right! Good to know! Just call if you're dead!" Just then … _Slip! Smack! Splash! _Followed by … _Splutter! Splutter! Wail! _"Ah! I'm drowning!" You cried out, splashing around like a cat in water. Of course, you should perhaps have mentioned this to Niou before you got the job as pool-cleaner … You had never actually learned how to swim. "Ni-kun!" You called out, trying to keep your head above the water. You spluttered some more, as water got in through your mouth and nose. "Help!"

And this is were our hero appears! "Don't worry, Jai! I'll save you!" Niou actually had time to do his super hero pose (a.k.a. Superman flying), before jumping into the water too. _Smack! _You stopped up and watched him, face down in the water, slowly sinking down to the bottom. You smirked as your feet hit the ground. "Sucker …" You muttered, just when his head surfaced once again.

He gasped for air and annoyed turned towards you.

You only shrugged. "What?" You chuckled, making your way towards the edge again. Well, it _was _true, you couldn't swim, but you were still able to make out the difference from the surface to the bottom. _And _you knew the perfect timing for a prank! Just as you tried climbing up, a certain someone grabbed you and pulled you down again. "Oh yeah!" He tried pushing your head down below, but you struggled against him, which ended up in the two of you practicing wrestling moves and God knows what.

In the end though, both of you lay, gasping for air, on the secure, firm ground. You stared up at the ceiling, the lamps and the dancing lights, being reflected in the water. You shivered only a slight bit, as the air was quite warm actually, but you still got up and looked around for a towel. That didn't mean you wanted to catch a cold or anything!

"Do you have any spare clothes?" Niou asked, standing next to you.

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"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh! My! GOD!" You hysterically laughed, hugging your stomach in cramps as you started having problems with breathing too. "Do you … Do you know how _wrong _that looks!" You exclaimed, dropping to your knees.

Niou only stared annoyed at you, drying his hair with a towel you had found earlier. He rolled his eyes, as you pressed a hand into your mouth to keep yourself from laughing any further. "Well … it's not really my fault, is it?"

"But …!" You wiped your eyes, as tears had sprung up. "Y-you look like a- a GIRL!" Niou was dressed in a pair of your shorts and a top, since you were the only one having some spare clothing in your locker. But to think he _actually _took it on; was an even bigger surprise. You had expected him to say something like "over my dead body!" or whatever, but he didn't. Of course he was a little reluctant about dressing like a girl, but there was nothing else for him to do, unless he rather wanted to walk around in _nothing at all_.

Plague or Cholera? Well, what a tricky one indeed …

"Though …" You paused, looking him up and down, while grinning broadly. "Gotta give you this; you're sort of cute and if I was a boy, I'd totally go out with you!" You chuckled.

"Well-" He started off, flipping his hair and _actually _pulled off a girly laugh. "It _is _true; I'm too drop-dead gorgeous, right?"

"Only when you're dressed as a girl though …" You rolled your eyes, starting to pick up your weapons for cleaning, as you'd better get on with your _Mission Impossible_. "As a boy, I'd totally see you as a insect on the front window of my dad's car."

"Eh?"

You continued. "And you wouldn't even be in the middle, but _all _the way out the side, where the windscreen can't reach you – and one of your legs is broken, so it pathetically waved back and forth in your last minutes of your life, as it slowly leaves your just as pathetic body." You clapped your hands together, smiling innocently at him. "You're just another bug on my way to _Stardom_!"

"… eh?"

You giggled happily, probably not even aware, that you had just insulted your friend. "Now! Shouldn't we get on with it all! I'd like to get home before the sun burns out and the Earth gets suck into a black hole!" You paused and … Panicked. "WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE! DIE I TELL YOU!" 

"_What _am I doing here …?" Niou muttered, walking after the now screaming you, as you made your way down the hall.

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The Next Morning

As to what had happened the night before, people could only surmise or think of in horror. But the rumours quickly spread through school, that two children had been found, one sleeping _peacefully, _while the other rambled on about the end of the world. The boy had been resting in a corner by the swimming pool, hugging a broom. The girl standing in the water, laughing maniacally all by herself – muttering that the Darkness would come. She was drenched to the bone and didn't blink at all.

Apparently, they had been there the entire night, after having been sat to clean the school alone. There had been no supervisor to watch out over them and so, things had started going wrong. The two had been put in the infirmary, where – after having gotten some sedative – the girl passed out right after, finally able to calm down.

After half an hour, the boy woke up and was able to tell the story. They had started out _pretty _well, as good as it now could get, when two kids were sat to do _ALL _the cleaning. But slowly, she had started loosing her mind, little by little, and … well … the condition she was in now, was probably evidence enough. Somewhat … As soon as the principal had heard about the two kids, he had quickly jumped into his car and driven with 200 m/h to get there before the parents. When he had arrived, he tried to talk about "suing the school would help no one at all!" and "let's all just talk about this calmly" _and _"why not sort out this story before your parents arrive?".

Someone didn't like lawsuits much?

Your POV

Your eyes glipped open and you sat up in the small bed in the infirmary. Around you sat your mother, the principal (_yay!_), a couple of teachers, the nurse and Riku. Apparently, your friend had continued wailing outside the door to get in, until they gave up and let her embrace her friend, crying. Perhaps a little bit overdramatic(?), but that just shoved; she cared.

"Oh, sweetheart, are you alright!" Your mother exclaimed, hugging you in what some would call a bone-breaking hug. "I thought you were dead!" She cried out, rocking back and forth with you. Your eye only twitched.

"O-kay … what did I miss?"

"Nothing much ..." Niou said, sitting in a chair not far by.

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	11. Fujika Family Dinner

A/N: I _loved _writing this part! And 3046 words! O.o Wauw!

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

11 – Fujika Family Dinner

Normal POV

_Bock! _

_Bock! _

_Bock! _

_Bock!_

"Ah, I never get tired of this!" Niou exclaimed, hitting yet another ball against her. _Bock! _Nadjai's eye started twitching, but pulled in air quickly, trying to calm her senses.

_Bock!_

"Tell me …" She muttered to herself. "_Why _again I took him with me to practice – this is starting to get _annoying_!" She had thought it as _funny_ to bring him, since he didn't have any _healthy_ hobbies – unless you count sneaking dead birds into the principal's office? – so! Tennis would be just the thing for him!

_Bock!_

… Or … So she had thought. But the only thing he did was to hit balls at her, hitting with precise accuracy – _in the head_. "Would-"

_Bock!_

"-You-"

_Bock!_

"-Please-"

_Bock!_

"-Stop-"

_Bock!_

"-THAT!"

_Bock! Bock! Bock!_

Apparently not …

"Or you could just quicken your pace …"

_Bock!_

Sanada and Yukimura both watched by the fence, a little bit worried – but also _a little _curious to know, who her new friend was. "I told you to stop already!" She started yelling at him, starting to hit the ball back at him. But shortly after, they were both chased around on the courts by the boys' captain. Apparently, being a girl on the boys' courts weren't really something, she was allowed to. "WAH! I was trying to get people to join! You shouldn't chase away a person giving you members! DAMN'IT!"

And now the captain had _also _found out his racket and started bombing her with tennis balls. "WHAT HAVE I DONE WRONG?!"

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Your POV

"**RUN!**"

"Yes sir!" You wailed out, as Captain Zen had caught you in the end (as you tried crawling the fence) and handed you over to your _own _captain. And who was the most sadistic and mean on the two? _Hum, hum? I wonder … _Of course, the answer would be sweet, innocent captain Miku.

The second she saw you, your orders were "**600 laps around the courts!**" – lucky you! When done, you'd have beaten the record – by ten-folds or something – _if _you survived, that is. Crying in your mind, you swore revenge on every living person in the world that played tennis. _I'll kill them all! I swear!_

"I'LL DESTROY YOU ALL!"

All heads turned and stared after her, as she continued with her Death March.

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"Wah …" Riku slowly patted the back of her best friend, while you cried out, rubbing your ankles. 600 laps were the perfect opportunity to trip in your shoelaces – more than once. And you had of course sprained your ankle too. "It hurts … It hurts …!" You wailed out, just when the captain walked over with a bag of ice. Rolling her eyes, she dropped it onto your foot.

"Just keep holding it down hard – it'll ease the pain." She said, poking your foot a little. "Yup, definitely swollen."

You stared annoyed at her, tears in your eyes. "I could have told you that without having you _poking _me." The two girls shook their heads at you, but you only stuck your tongue out annoyed. "Bah!"

You watched as the captain suddenly went 'captain-mode' again and ordered Riku to get back practicing. "**What are you doing? Stalling?!**" You chuckled happily, as you _finally _were able to watch someone _else _being tormented by the captain. _This time is ain't me! Mwuhaha! _

Just then you looked around and noticed a person, whom you should actually have talked to some time ago. "Oi! _Gen-chan_!" You called out, grabbing the boy's attention. At first, he only looked at you for a second, but then walked on, but when you called out again (a notch higher), he sighed and walked over.

"_What?_" He asked annoyed. "I'm in the middle of practice."

"And?" You asked, raising an eyebrow. "It's not like the cap' will kill you. Or- well, _your _captain probably won't. If it was …" You glanced at Miko, who one again was yelling at your friend. "Then I guess you wouldn't survive. But! It's Zen-san! You'll be fine! Just fine …" He only waited to hear, whatever you were trying to tell him. He raised an eyebrow questioningly. You looked at him, blinking. Then it hit you. "Oh, right! I should ask from my mom, if you wanted to come home to us for dinner today?"

"Ah … sure, now your mother asks."

You glared. "What do you mean by that? You only want to since it's my _mom_?! What if I had asked you?!"

"Then _no_."

You gaped at him. _Ah …_

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Normal POV

"Ohh! Gen-chan!" Sometimes, he really, _really _deep inside wanted to take out a machine-gun and blow that annoying girl into pieces. _Sometimes_ was perhaps not the right word … "OI! _GEN-CHAN_!" _All the time _would be better suited. And just why, WHY?!, did she have to call him that?

"Gen-chan?" He suddenly felt a light tap on his shoulder and he looked down on her. She was looking puzzled, yet still smiling, up at him. Now would be the perfect time to just grab one of those pencils in his pocket and stick it through her eye- OK! Hold it! No murders allowed on school grounds – he had to be a good boy and follow the rules.

She would live for now …

"You seem awfully absentminded lately?" She stated, while they started walking for the bus, walking through the gateless opening into school. Sanada did nothing to retort to her statement, but continued staying quiet and just focus on … walking. Yes … Keep the killer mind at bay. _That's the spirit! _"Hm … You know, is there something wrong? Do you have a fever? Or perhaps it's something with the heart? Are you … love sick?"

All he had to do was breathe … It wasn't hard. He could do it … He would _not _kill her!

"Is there someone you like? Have you confessed?"

She just wouldn't stop, would she?

"You know … I love you."

She was so … absolutely de-

_WHAT?!_

Not able to keep his poker face, he stared at her. Mouth opened. Eyes completely widened. Did she just say … _that_? Did she say _the word_? He had stopped, dead in his tracks and Nadjai quickly followed suit. She only continued smiling. That smile just never left her face, did it? Not even when she had just said something that would obviously make people freaked out. "Or something _like_ that …!" She waved it off, starting to walk again. Her hands folded on her back, she happily walked up ahead.

He stared after her.

How can someone just drop a BOMB and then think nothing more of it?!

She smiled, when he had finally decided to get going again and was now standing in front of her at the bus-stop. Nadjai was casually sitting at the bench, eyeing the road and expecting the bus to come any second – racing from the sky or whatever that went through her mind.

Then she beaming turned her attention back to him. "Fufu! Got you good there, didn't I?" She asked, grinning broadly from one ear to another. "Made you snap out of it! Just as planned! Perhaps it was a little over-board but I couldn't come up with anything else … But, hey! It was effective!"

So it was all just something to make him _snap out of it_?

"But … I still love you."

… _Wiiiiiiiii! _Bombs away! …

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Your POV

"Ah, Genichirou-kun!" Your mother quickly opened the door and greeted you and your friend. After you had, err … messed a little around with Gen-chan, he had stayed silent for the rest of the time. _Did I cross the line? _You pondered, as your mom helped Sanada with his jacket and bag.

"So, how's school coming along?" She asked him, while guiding him into the living-room. "I guess you are doing great as usual? And how's your love life coming along?"

Somewhat, Sanada wished he was dead. Like mother like daughter apparently?

"Mom!" You chipped in, pushing her into the kitchen, so that Sanada wouldn't hear your argument – you know; _private stuff_. You gave him a quick, innocent smile, before you disappeared behind the door into the other room. But of course he was able to hear everything quite clearly, as … discretion wasn't something that ran in that family.

"Don't you dare start questioning him about anything at all! It's annoying!"

"Not like you don't do that yourself!"

"It's different!"

"No, it isn't!"

"Yes it is! He's my friend!"

"So, _what_?"

"So what everything! Friends are allowed to question each other!"

"Oh?"

"Oh!"

Sanada stared at the closed door, eyebrow raised. What happy family time those two shared …?

"Perhaps, when I came in on the subject of _love life_, you became _jealous_?"

All of that was followed by a few seconds of silence, but then … "WHAT?!" You spluttered. "Jealous?! Why on Earth would I be JEALOUS?!"

"I don't know why not …"

"Oh really?"

"Then again … You _have _been friends since forever and it's always _bound_ to happen …" Your mother trailed off.

"What is?"

"You know … the two friends suddenly start acting weird around each other … and both starting to develop feelings and then, without knowing, they're in love and happily married!"

"… Seriously, what a quick development …" Came your annoyed retort.

"What? It happens!"

"As if!"

Sanada's POV

In the end, you decided to just let the two be and not listen to their argument – it was normal and he was used to it. In stead you walked over to the mantelpiece and picked up the nearest picture-frame. You smiled- Scratch that, your mouth twitched up ,00001 per cent - so, for you, you guessed, it could be called a smile. The immortalized moment showed a smiling Nadjai, though looking rather pale, a just as pale mother, glancing towards the restrooms, and … you.

You remembered that time quite well. One day, a weekend, in the middle of the morning, Nadjai had suddenly stood in front of your door. She tried doing the jingle-bell, knocking on the door. Before you knew of it, you had been tied up, dragged out of your house and into their car. At the seats in front, her mother and father sat, grinning just as broadly as her.

After that you had found yourself in the nearest amusement park, stuck in a rollercoaster with Nadjai by your side, yelling down at her parents, as they had forced her to try it. She never really did enjoy those sorts of rides … But in the end she had been forced to try it – more than once.

The picture had been taken just after the fifteenths time. She and her mother both were born cowards, so they were close to fainting in the end. You, on the other hand, didn't even find them interesting.

Just while you were getting consumed by the good old days, the door got opened again and the two, still arguing, emerged into the living-room. Nadjai held a plate in her hands, where she was trying not to spill the hot, boiling tea all over. Her mother was right behind her, trying to take it away from her. "Come on, honey! It'll go a lot easier if you just give it to me! You'll just get hurt!"

"Mom!" She whined, dodging her _and _spilling some on the floor. "I can handle it quite well, thank you!"

"Doesn't look like it!" She exclaimed, now depressed staring at the soon-to-be spot on the ground. Then, with a sigh, she left for the kitchen to get a cloth. In the mean time, Nadjai carefully placed the tray on the sofa-table and took out the cups and kettle. Then she poured it up, doing real _graceful_.

Her mother returned and right away went into a fit; mouth a gap and staring at the water now all over the table too. "Why couldn't I get a normal child … Why …?"

Oh, God, how had you just ended up in this house again?

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Normal POV

Nadjai was starting to get really annoyed at her mother and really, REALLY hoped that her father would soon get home … just so she would annoy someone else but her daughter. She glanced out the window while sipping up the tea. Sanada was sitting next to her on the couch, just looking ahead of himself, remembering the _jolly _events that had happened earlier in the room.

Nadjai had nearly been murdered by her mother, as she had forgotten to put something under the warm cups. "I have told you a million times to do that, or else there'll get rings on the table!" That had been followed by the child getting choked by the mother.

Just then a car door slammed outside the house and she quickly peaked up, once again glancing out the window. "Mom!" She called out. "Dad's home!"

"Then open the door!" Her mother snapped. "I'm getting attacked by the salad, so I'm a little busy!"

Rolling her eyes, she jumped up from the couch and ran for the door, just as the bell rang. Sanada was able to hear the sound of the door, getting slung open and the girl greeting her father. "Hi, dad! Had a nice day? Here, let me take your coat! God, I'm glad to see you!"

Somewhat; how people just could make out her sucking-up voice at that moment. "Do you need money or something?" The father asked, knowing she wanted something, as he had known her since birth.

"W-what?!" She spluttered, acting completely innocent. "I'm just happy to see you, dad!" Trying to _fool _him, she guided him into the living-room. "Oh, yeah! Gen-chan's here!"

"Nice to see you, Genichirou-kun, how are you?" Her father asked him politely.

"Dad!" She laughed nervously. "Don't start asking him questions too!"

"Oh … so it got something to do with your mother, does it?"

"Ah …"

Reassuring her, he walked out into the kitchen to void her mother's attention towards something else than tormenting Sanada about his love life. She let out a sigh of relief and plumped down into the couch once again. "Thank God for that!" She muttered.

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"Dinner's served!" Her mother called, head popping through the door.

And so the three family-members and the good friend gathered around the table and a rather … _strange _family dinner began. Of course, as this family was – what most people would call it – mentally unstable, it did go a little past normal …

"No. No. and NO! I will NOT eat it!"

"But, huney, you need your vegetables!" Her mother chipped in. "You need to grow up!"

"Wha'?! I am _grown up_!"

"No way!" Her father joined the fun. "You call 1.55 meters grown up?! You're a shrimp and you know it!"

"You people are so mean!" Nadjai pouted, poking to the carrots on her plate. "You know … this _is _a quite normal height for a 12 year old girl, don't you think?"

"If you want to become a model later on, then at least grow twenty centimetres more."

"Since _when _did I want to become a MODEL?!"

"Since your dad and I talked about it."

"… I have no comment at all …"

"That's good! Now, _eat_!"

"_NO!_"

"Then … let's say … you have to eat at least three carrots, one squash and four tomatoes?"

"Nu-uh!" Pressing her hands against her ears, she shut out her mother's reprimanding voice. "I'm not listening! La la la la la!"

"Now, behave young lady! You might act like this normally, but not when we got a guest- oh, Genichirou-kun, would you like another portion of rice?"

"-la la la la-"

"Yes, thank you." He put out his bowl and the – still arguing – mother quickly poured some more over in his before returning her attention to the daughter.

"-la la la la la la-"

"Stop it! What do you think Genichirou-kun is thinking of you!"

_I__-di-ot _would probably suit quite well …

"-la la la la la la la la-"

"Well, even though I've been told not to ask any questions, but how is school coming along."

"Just fine." Sanada answered, leaning back in the chair, as a carrot went flying past in front of him. Real lucky him, he found Nadjai on one side and her mother on the other. That's what you'd call a tight spot …

"I take it that you look after my daughter too?"

"As much as it is now possible."

The father laughed. "Of course, she can be a little hard to, err- control …"

"-la la la la la-"

"True …"

Once again, another carrot _wooshed _pastby him; this time coming from the side of the older woman. Nadjai's father sighed, wondering if his wife had slipped a love-potion into his drink when they had started dating. Because, _really, _he had no idea how he had ended up in this situation.

"-la la la-"

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"See you tomorrow, Gen-chan!" Nadjai yelled after him, as he made his way down the isle towards the street outside. She waved and happily beamed after him. "Hope you had a nice time with us! Uh- and, sorry 'bout the carrot through the eye thing … Bye!"

When he was out of sight, she closed the door with a sigh out relief. That didn't go too bad … well, not as bad as predicted, but by normal standards … it would go by the word _disaster_. Then she made her way into the living-room again, where she found her parents in busy talking among each other. "That went smooth!"

"I can't wait till you two get married!"

_Complete, utmost silence …_

"WHAT?!"

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A/N:** Please review, it really makes my day! =)**


	12. Ranking Tournament

A/N: Uhm … You know what would make me really happy? That would be if a lot of people review! I love reading them! It really, really lightens up my day! Now, let's get on with it!

And here's the real Author's Note! I'm not quite sure what the tournament Rikkai Dai competes in before going off to the one, where they are facing off against Seigaku (can't remember what that's called either). O.o But, I hope you all can understand this is the one _before!_ Neh? And, anyways, it's only mentioned twice or so(?), but - you know what a mean! Just to make sure everyone is aware of _which _it is.

So, the one _before _Kantou Tournament (I looked it up)!

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**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

12 – Ranking Tournament

Normal POV

After the disaster/wonderful entertaining family dinner with the Fujika family the day before, Sanada really thought of locking himself up in an asylum – because even a mere hour could drive someone to the brink of insanity …

Right now was the perfect time for him to _ponder _about it. Just how again, had he ended up with a _friend _– if he could call her that – that was THAT weird and messed up on the upper floor. At the moment, he found himself doing some rather boring practice along with the rest of the freshmen. The vice-captain was hovering over them, making sure no one was slacking off. Apparently, when the _real _captain wasn't gracing them with his presence, the other third years saw themselves in holy light … or something in that direction. Which made them all slightly … _bossing_.

Sanada glanced around, trying to make out the figure of their captain. As some other freshman had asked where their 'leader' had gone off to, the vice-captain had answered it like this: "It is best for you not to know."

It seemed that the whereabouts of their captain was too hard for the innocent ears of freshmen … Which made Sanada come to the conclusion; he was with the girls' captain somewhere – probably the locker-rooms. But, returning to the practice at hand and the two-hundred swings. He listened, but then again not, to the freshmen next to him. The trickster stood, smirking as usual, and talking to the bubblegum chewing _Strawberry-kun_, watching a couple of juniors making their way around the court. Apparently they were being punished for something, which they hadn't done … except, Sanada had a slight idea, someone else might be the guilty one … someone with _silver _hair. On his other hand, the _beautiful _Yukimura (as most girls saw him) was smiling as usual, he too watching the juniors. Further past him, Jackal stood, not really able to understand how; he had ended up in the tennis club, along with Yanagi, who was probably thinking some in this direction: _Data_ …

"Everyone gather up!" Came a sudden outburst from the entrance. Attentions turned towards the captain, who had finally made his appearance onto the courts. And then everyone quickly hurried to gather up in lines after their _ranks_, so to call them. Furthest to the left stood the freshmen; followed by the juniors. Afterwards came the seniors and then, the most regarded positions, the Regulars. But enough of the hierarchy of the boys' tennis team, in stead let's concentrate of the urgent and important matters the captain had to present to them all.

"So …" He said, quickly wiping his face, as the vice-captain had whispered about some _red stuff _on his … cheek, for one. "Ah … Yes-" He ignored the lowly chuckled from the elder players, as they had a little less respect towards the captain. "As you probably all know, it is soon time for the Kanagawa tournament and of course I want only the best to play! Therefore we'll hold the ranking tournament as usual!"

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Your POV

Whistling happily, you watched in a confused way, as the ranking tournament for the boys had started off right away. You noticed the (annoying) trickster already playing at one of the courts, and – having checked out the others – found him the only one of your friends doing so. And then, you decided, you might as well go cheer for him!

"Yay! Beat him, you punk!" You yelled at him, threatening lifting a hand towards him, as if saying "or I'll rip out your guts and stuff you with TNT, blow you up and then bring you back from the dead, only to do it all again!" or something like that …!

Just rolling his eyes, he then concentrated on the match – not that it would be any real trouble to him of course! He flipped his hair. _Be awed by- _No … that's not right …? Whatever, he thought in the end and just completely destroyed his opponent. As simple as that! He then heard cheering from the sideline and turned his head slightly, giving you a V-sign. "_Piku_!"

"Complete K.O!" You grinned happily. "You're _nearly_ as good as me! Please notice the pressure on _almost_!"

"… eh …"

You continued beaming.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked; staring dumbfounded at you. "As if you'd have a chance against me!"

_Confident, are we? _You thought, but merely smiled at him. "As if _you _would have a chance against _me_." You retorted, flipping your hair. _Be awed- _What the heck?! Where did _that _come from?!

"Oh, really?" His lips curled up into a smirk, as he hovered over you. "Is that a challenge?" You continued smiling innocently at him. "Then, when the ranking matches is over, I'll play you. Then we'll see; who's the best."

"Tsk …" You said, noticing another of your friends entering court, your face lit up yet another notch. "I don't need to play you to know …" Then you waved at him, happily jumping towards the purple-haired boy. "Ja!"

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Normal POV

_Doesn't need to … play … _Bah! That kid was way too full of herself!

Or … was she …?

To be _that _confident, there had to be something behind it. No one would ever go around bursting like that, or- no _normal _person, that is … But then again, he watched as she was pushing a couple of fan girls out of the way, trying to make her way over to Yukimura. Apparently, that kid had already gotten a bunch of girls swooning over him – he, _the trickster of Rikkai Dai _had been beaten to be the first freshman with a fan-club by a _bishonen_?! How could that be possible?! But enough with the self-pity, as – after having cheered the beautiful prince(ss) on – Nadjai got dragged off by the other girls, murder written in their eyes. Was it just him, or did he hear screams sound pretty much like this: "I'm to young to die! Noooo!"

He shrugged it off and decided to watch the match between Yukimura and a Regular. Now, _who to bet on_?

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Your POV

"So you think, you can just waltz up to Yukimura-kun?" One of the fan girls asked, making you blink a couple of times at her, confused.

"Err … ye'." You only stated, glancing towards the courts, where the match had started off. _Aw, I want to watch it! _You pouted, turning your attention fully towards the four girls from the two higher years, all glaring dagger at you.

"Are you mocking me, _girl_?"

"…Yeah …"

Oh, how the vein at her temple was close to bursting … But before you had a chance of ticking them off any further, you was slung against the wall, being hold back by the most muscular of the girls. Your eye twitched as you felt your shoulder sting. _Ouch … _Scurrying up your eyebrow, you stared at them. "Really … you'll miss your chance of watching the princess playing …" You retorted.

Glares turning worse by ten-folds, they bared their teeth. _Princess? _You only beamed at them, raising your hand. Before they were able to snap back at you, you had pushed by the hand holding you and had darted off.

"FREEDOM!"

They stared after you. "Ah …" But then they heard the referee call, not far away.

"Yukimura game, 1-0!"

"Ah!"

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"Go, go Yuki! Yuki!"

His eye twitched, as _someone _was yelling annoyingly at him from the other side of the fence. Of course, he didn't mind, if people cheered him on … but to repeat two words, over and over again … that would just make you bored in the end.

But you, of course, had no idea he was thinking these thoughts. So, happily unaware, you continued _repeating two words, over and over again. "_Yuuuukiiiii! Beat him!"

The match continued, and happily, you sucked in all the data, you were able to gather from the _princess_. It was pretty impressive, if you had to say so. Though, it wasn't anything _fancy _or _impressive _about it … well, it was impressive, but not impressive-impressive. Okay, you were starting to confuse yourself …!

But, the way he was playing … it was just … impressive.

"WHAT THE HECK?!"

Everyone stared.

You were really, REALLY confused by now. Was there no other word than impressive, which you could use? It was hard, trying to explain how to be impressive, but not impressive.

"Remarkable …" You muttered, counting on your fingers.

Yukimura scored another point.

"Extraordinary …"

And; yet another point.

"Astonishing …"

Point.

"Not- WHAT THE HECK?!" You repeated. That _still _wasn't true! It wasn't remarkable. It wasn't extraordinary either. Not astonishing. And definitely NOT notable!

_Okay … let's try to _calm down _and figure it out_ …

Yukimura's way of tennis was … plain. But, not plain- That wasn't right either; now was it? Alright! His play-style wasn't fancy; it was done with no … _Dunk Smash _or _Twist Serve_, and whatever there else was. He was able to get to the ball without doing flick-flacks on the way – and was winning easily. So, it was … _impressive_.

"Yeah …" You muttered. "That's it … I think?"

"Yukimura, 6-0."

Everyone around you was completely silent … A freshman had just totally crushed one of the regulars? You looked at him and … _was that a sadistic smile …? _You wondered, thinking the _princess _was turning into a _princess, armed with a machine gun AND a couple of hand-grenades. _But still, as he walked off the courts, you still crushed him in a hug. "YAY! You won!"

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"And here are the regulars, chosen for the Kanagawa Tournament-" Captain Zen started off and one by one, the seven boys stepped out from the rows of players.

"Morita, Kaito, fukubuchou, 3-1."

"Adachi, Goro, 3-3."

"Tsuki, Kouta, 3-3."

"Morimura, Yori, 3-5."

_Wow … The youngsters got crushed completely!_

But then … As the captain mentioned the next couple of names, murmurs were heard all around.

"Sanada, Genichirou, 1-3."

"YAY!"

"Yukimura, Seiichi, 1-3."

"WOOHOO!"

"Yanagi, Renji, 1-3."

"YOU RULE- and there's seriously some weird gas in their classroom … that makes people extremely great at tennis … Ah! I want to go in that class too!"

"Nadjai-chan …" A rather honey-sweet voice was heard from behind you and chills ran down your spine. _The devil's behind me, isn't she? _You thought, slowly turning around. There she stood … the captain …

"AHHHH!"

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Normal POV

"And that is the members-"

"Ah …"

People all glanced towards the girl, drooling mindlessly.

"-for the Kanagawa Tournament-"

"Ah …"

She was in a complete shock.

"-so, all there is to say-"

"Ah …"

Her brain was probably completely fried by then.

"-Good luck, and let's do our best, shall we?!"

"Ah …"

But then she felt someone link arms with her and slowly, craning her neck upwards, she gave the captain a stare of death. "So, you're singles 2, I've already decided!"

How again had she ended up in this situation? Well …

After having been caught by the captain, as Nadjai had tried skipping practice and in stead watching the boys train, she was dragged back to the girls' courts. Here, apparently, she had been signed up for the ranking tournament there too …

And so she had been forced to play four other tennis players. Being a sour loser, she didn't want to loose, but … did she want to participate either? Once again, she found herself in a tight spot, choosing between plague and cholera. In the end, her competitive mind had taken over and she had completely crushed her opponents.

"Damn me being a sour loser …" She muttered, glancing sideways at the other Regulars. She whistled lowly, seeing them all as quite tall compared to her. "I feel like a gnome too …" Then she turned her attention back to the _evil _captain, still having arms linked with her, smiling at her. "And _why _am I singles 2?! Shouldn't it be someone, who's more … what to call it? Compatible for it? Like … SOMEONE WHO'S ACTUALLY A PART OF THIS FREAKING CLUB?!"

Everyone threw looks at her, a little … scared, but still not really cared. By then, they were starting to get used to it. But not that Nadjai cared, in stead she was trying to shake off the captain, who just continued holding onto her arm, keeping the freshman from running away. "Easy, easy!" Miko sang, now turning her attention towards the other players, as the younger girl had been frozen in a headlock. "**And WHAT exactly are you doing?! Quit stalling and begin practice! And you, Regulars, I want to see you on court A and B right NOW!"** Nadjai's eye twitched, watching how everyone quickly ran to their proper places. Smiling once again, the Captain of Doom looked down on the girl. "We should get going too, no?"

"No …" She muttered.

But she still got dragged over to the Regulars' courts.

"I dun wanna! I dun wanna! IDUNWANNA!"

"Suck it up, kiddo!"

And so she got introduced to all the Regulars, who were grinning at her. Apparently, she thought, it was only the 3rd years, who were good enough to even hit the ball – that, and her. Woohoo! … Notice the sarcasm… But before she had a chance of racking down everything, she found herself on one of the courts, about to start a doubles against the other regulars.

She felt a light tap on the back of her head, making her attention turn upwards on a _really _talk – even for a senior – girl. Nadjai noticed; that she was pretty skinny and doubted she was a power-player. But even though she probably couldn't knock out a player with a smash, that racket on the head still _did _hurt! "Auch!" Her brow furrowed, rubbing the now aching lump.

"So!" The senior exclaimed. "You're my partner for today, eh, lumpy?!"

"… First of all, WHO'S A LUMPY?! Oh, and secondly … Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you too, lumpy-"

"Seriously, do you _need _to call me that?" She cut in.

"No." She beamed. "But I'm doing it anyways, _lumpy_. And, I'm Fumihiko, Joruni!"

"Mjello, I'm-"

"Lumpy, yes. I know."

"… I'm _so _much not going to answer that …!"

"Are we going to talk _all _day?" One of the other regulars called from the opposite side. "Can't you talk to Lumpy afterwards?"

"WHAT'S WITH YOU PEOPLE?!" Nadjai – a.k.a. Lumpy – exclaimed, getting rather annoyed by then. "… You've discussed this already or what?"

"Yes. The captain told us your nickname!"

"She did, eh?" She asked, a sugar-sweet smile gracing her lips, while in her mind, something NOT as sugar-sweet went going on. _I. am. Going. To. KILL_. Her! Shaking it off, waiting with the knife-through-the-captain's-eye plan, she in stead concentrated on the match at hand.

"It's not often I'm playing doubles …" Joruni muttered, walking past her, as she was the lucky winner of serving first. As she stood by the service line, she yelled at you. "What about you, Lumpy?"

Taking a deep breath – _patience! _– she answered. "I've tried it."

"Great, then I'll let you handle it all!"

"WHA-!"

"**Get going!**" Came the _sweet _voice of the captain, as she had noticed the match had still not begun. "**Or I'll remove you from the regular's spot right away!**"

"Yes sir!"

"I'm not a _sir_!"

"Yes ma'am!"

"That's better, _Lumpy_!"

"I'M _NOT _A LUMPY!"

"Whatever you say, Lumpy."

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

I hope you all liked it, and even if you didn't … I don't mind getting REVIEWS! So -- off you go!


	13. Lumpy's Fight

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

13 – Lumpy's Fight

Normal POV

Abe, Shinobu and Abe, Shioko, two twins in their third year, were pretty good, Nadjai would admit that. But still, she smirked, once again hitting an easy ball towards the corner; they were just up against someone superior – by far.

As Shioko hit it back to the only open space on the opponents' court, her eyes widened. Before she knew off it, the freshman was right in front of the net. The worst part of the fact they were losing was, that Joruni didn't even lift a finger – the freshman dominated the entire court! She was pushing back the two with ease, while she _still _had time to argue with her partner, who continued calling her Lumpy.

After having yelled at her senior partner, she quickly returned the ball, trying to play a style, which she had seen just a little earlier, as Yukimura had faced off against the regular. He had made his opponent completely loose his senses and sent him to the yips …?

That might sound a little … wrong, somehow. Sent people to the yips … But none the less, that was; what she was trying to do! And she … had absolutely no idea how to do it. So, she tried playing the unflashy way, as her friend had done it – but, that was hard too! She was a person who loved showing off! Sighing in her head, she returned the ball easily. "Graceful … graceful …" She continued muttering for each time hitting the small, yellow ball. But before she was able to be _graceful as a butterfly_, the match was over.

"6-0."

"EH?!" Nadjai blinked confused, watching as the ball bounced off the court. Following it with her eyes, she was pushed towards the net to greet her opponents. "It's already over?"

"Ya, well done, Lumpy."

Her eye twitched, but stayed silent none the less. But then, as she shook hands with one of the twins, she spoke up again. "So … any of you went into the yips?"

"… the _what_ now?"

"Ah, I guess not." Scratching her head, she walked off court. "I still got to work on that, eh …?" Thinking; that if she should be able to learn it, she had to learn it from the master himself. So! It was about time to play Yukimura! Scanning the area around her, her eyes quickly fell upon the purple hair. A smirk widened and she walked for the entrance to the courts. But before she was able to get far, a hand grabbed the back of her shirt and easily lifted her above the ground. "Huh?"

Being twirled in the air, she came face to face with the captain once again. "And where are we going, Lumpy?"

She pouted. "I'm not a Lumpy …"

"Whatever, whatever!" She waved it off, dragging the younger player with her back to the regulars, who had gathered once again. Being placed on the firm ground, she pouted once again, looking up at the taller sempais. "Alright!" The captain exclaimed. "I hope you're all ready for the tournament this next weekend?"

"… No …"

"That's good! That's good!"

"No one listens to me …"

"And remember to eat healthy, train and- **Oi! Don't run away!**"

Freezing in the middle of running across the courts, Nadjai slowly turned around, grinning goofily. "Sorry?"

"**100 laps around the courts!**"

"AGAIN?!"

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

Your POV

"O-I! Yu-ki-mu-ra!" You yelled across the courts, just as the male captain had rounded up the practice and come with a speech, pretty much the same as your captain. You quickly ran onto court, ignoring their vice-captain, who yelled and tried tackling you. "I need to talk to you!"

You stopped up right in front of the freshman, beaming happily at him. He only raised an eyebrow, entertained. "Yes?"

But then he got a finger stuck up to his face, as you stubbornly looked at him. "Play me!"

"… Huh?"

"Don't you _huh _me! _Play _me! PLAY!"

"… Why?"

"Don't you _why _me! _Play _me! PLAY!"

"… Would you stop that?"

"Don't you _would you- _Oh …" You scratched your head, laughing nervously. "We don't get anywhere with this …"

"No."

"… Right. But, please!" You clapped your hands together, bowing your head at him. "Please play me!"

"Why is it; that you so absolutely got to play me?"

"I need to know how you make people end up in the yips! I want to use it in the upcoming tournament!"

"… The yips?"

"You don't know?!" You stared at him – and people called _you _stupid?! "When you play people, they loose their senses! They loose their will to fight! I want to learn it and I can't without I've experienced the real thing!"

"… Okay …"

"Really?!"

"Can't be helped, can it?"

"No, not really …" Then you hugged his arm, laughing. "Then! Let's go to the public courts – since the captains would probably kill us for using these …" You glanced towards the two mentioned, noticing them staring directly back at you. "Definitely kill …"

Dragging him off the courts, someone suddenly pulled you back, stopping you from getting away from the Devils. "Oi, where are you going?" Glancing back, following the hand to its owner, you saw the trickster.

"Eh? Spiky-kun?"

His brow furrowed for a short time. _Spiky-kun_? But then he pulled you more towards him and away from the princess. "You said; that you'd play me after having finished the matches! Now, you can't just decide to play someone else and dump me!"

"… Oh … that's right! But-" You whined, trying to get free. "I _need _to play Yukimura! Our match is only to show, that I'm better than you – even though I could just have told you that."

"I really do not like the way you can insult people that easily … But, a promise is a promise!" He smirked. "Or else you'll probably find a dead bird in your locket one day … and another day, your clothes will disappear, while you're having P.E-"

Your eye twitched. That was a threat, wasn't it? But then you sighed and reluctant gave up, glancing towards Yukimura. "Fine, I'll beat you first. Happy now?"

"Well, not the beating part, but yes."

"Fine!" Once again you had returned to your happy, hyper self. "Lumpy's going to beat you both!"

"… Who's Lumpy?"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING LUMPY?!"

"... You just said ... Nevermind ..."

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

Yukimura found himself sitting on a bench at the public courts, a rather _annoyed _cap-wearing guy next to him. Sanada had no idea, how he had ended up in this … whenever it had something to do with you, he apparently had no will himself? He just gets dragged on … In the mean while, you were facing off against Niou on the court before them, impatient tapping your foot against the ground, waiting for him to serve. "Just get it over with!" You called. "I have lots to learn!"

"Yeah, for example not to underestimate me!" He answered, swinging his racket and starting the game. You tsk'ed him, running towards the ball, stopping it before it hit the ground. This match was just warming-up for you! A greater opponent was waiting you, and you just couldn't wait to learn that _yips-thing_. Even though, you had noticed, Yukimura had no idea what you had been talking about …

"15-0."

"EH?!" Your eyes widened, as the ball passed right by you. _Note to self; no thinking while playing! That's multitasking …_

"What was it, you said? The thing about, beating me?" Niou teased. "Doesn't seem like it, no?"

You rolled your eyes, tightening your grip around the racket. _I won't let this continue._ A smirk formed on your lips, as the silver-haired went for the service line. This point belonged to you! "I'll crush you." You muttered. Then you once again moved for the ball, hitting it directly back towards his face.

"Oh?!" He barely dodged it, which made you own the point. "O-oi! You did that on purpose!" He exclaimed, pointing a finger towards you. You only smiled.

"Yes." A few people had gathered to watch the match, all muttering among each other. You tapped the racket against your shoulder, once again beaming at him. "Well, enough already. Let's get going."

"Aren't we rather arrogant?" He asked through gritted teeth. But then he cracked a smile, completely timed with you. "Fufu, you're good at being bad you know." You flipped your hair.

"Of course. Now, come!"

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

Even though Niou really thought hard, he was still unable of defeating you. _Bock! _The ball hit the ground a second time on his side of the court … He looked at it, racket dropping next to it. He had been so close, but still … it was too far away. Slowly, he bowed down and picked the racket up again, twirling it in his hands. Then, turning his attention towards you, he walked for the net. "Ah, I guess you weren't just all talk."

Grabbing his hand, you beamed. "Of course! And I can't get defeated. Not after I've already predicted the outcome! Can't happen! Can't happen!" You waved it off, pointing your racket towards one of the boys on the bench. "Now, come, Princess!"

The two opponents of yours stared. First of all, Niou had just been waved off, completely forgotten. Apparently, you were nothing in her mind, not after you had been beaten – that is. And Yukimura …

"Who's a princess …?" He muttered. Yet still, he stood up and aimed for the court. Here, he swapped places with the trickster, making the last-mentioned turn to the bench, while he stood on the court. "Alright. You want to end up in the … Yips?"

You gave him the thumps up. "If it won't be too much to ask for!"

And so your umpteenth match that day started off. And _finally! _a proper opponent! _This is going to be interesting … _You grinned. _Very. _This time it was your serve, but even though you had only just started the game, there was no way; that you'd go easy on him! You paused, just before you hit the first serve of the game. "Do I really want to end up in the yips …?" You pondered. But then you shrugged it off, throwing up the ball. "You won't know unless you try!" Then you hit it, putting an enormous amount of spin and speed on it. _Let's see what you can do about this! _

It disappeared right away, but still, as it had come over the net, Yukimura was right there. "Invisible Serve, eh?" He asked, slinging his racket at what seemed to be only air. But when it made impact to something with a _duck!_, the ball appeared. While it went back towards you, he spoke again. "It may be even more powerful than Sanada's, but … it's still not enough!"

Pouting, you ran for the ball, making it just in time. Even though it looked like a normal ball, you could feel the power and spin in it. _Ah … certainly, he's good! "_Well! Let's see what you can do about this then!" You hit a lob, but … it didn't have enough power to make it over the net … it hit right onto it, where it balanced. "Tight rope walking!" It rolled over the net and then, slowly, tipped towards one side. Yukimura's. "Ha!" You happily yelped at him, but then … your face dropped.

In the blink of an eye, he was at the net. And to further your annoyance, he even made it _before _the ball hit the ground. But enough with you; cursing him in your mind. There was no time for that! Especially since he made a drop-shot. "Ah!"

You threw yourself at the ball, this time barely making it. And then it happened, just as your racket made impact with the small ball, it just snapped. Not the racket … but something else. Something _inside _of you. "Where …" You muttered. _Where did my vision go?! _At first, you were on the brick of panicking, but then you pulled yourself together. _This _was why you had challenged him in the first place! It was to end up in the yips – and it seemed you had been able to! Now … all it took, was for you to concentrate. You had to understand just why the _freaking (beep) _you had lost your eyesight. Slowly, fumbling with your hands towards the net, supporting yourself, you got up again. "Nadjai-chan, are you alright?" You heard the gentle voice of your friend.

You smiled at him, or- the direction, you thought he was in. "It's Jai! And don't worry! Don't worry! I'm just fine."

"You know … I'm standing the _opposite _way, right?"

"…" Your eye twitched. "Oh … Haha …"

"You sure you're all right?" He asked, believing not even a single word of what you said. But still, as you _ordered _him to continue, there was nothing he could do. Reluctant, he walked back. And you made your way to the service line, as it was still your turn. It was _only _15-0 still! One point! It wasn't the end of the world … _Yet! _

Slowly, you bounced the ball up and down, hitting the ground. But then you threw it up into the air and slung your racket. _This point is mine! _But … _Bock! _Your eye went into a hysterical twitch, as the ball – in stead of making an impact with your racket – hit your head.

Complete silence filled the court and its surroundings. Well, except for a madman of a trickster, who was laughing his head off? "Oh my God! I'm so glad I tagged along! This is way more entertaining than messing around with the captains!"

"Keh …" You gritted your teeth and slowly bowed down to pick up the ball. But, thanks to the lack of things going on in front of your eyes, you fumbled over the ground, unable to find it.

Sanada's brow furrowed. "Something's wrong." He stated – the obvious.

But still, sometimes, you really have to state the obvious before stupid people understand. This; was one of those times. "Eh?" Niou asked, now focusing on you. "What do you mean, wrong?"

Annoyed, you rummaged through your pockets and luckily, there was another spare ball. _Else I'd make a total fool of myself_. You laughed, but froze, as Yukimura once again let out his worries. "You can't see, can you?"

"W-w-what?!" You stuttered. "Of course I can see! What's with you? Weird question …" Your voice turned into a mutter, when you turned your face away from them all, trying to hide the obvious lie, written across your face – with big, fat, red letters. Your innocent laugh turned into one heck of a nervous one, as you continued feeling their gazes. "Seriously! Of course I can see!"

And this was a very common thought, going through everyone's mind at that time: "Complete liar."

But shaking of the thought of being watched, you once again threw up the ball. _I am SO gonna hit it this time! _You thought, slinging your racket with all the power you could muster. _Oh, muster … ham tastes good with mustard … Okay, just what happened? _Before you started getting hungry, you focused on the sound of the ball dropping and- _Smack! _Luckily, this time you were able to hit it.

"Ah! She returned it!" Niou exclaimed, somewhat … happy? Well, then again – no matter how entertaining it was, watching you hit yourself – it wouldn't be fun if there wouldn't be any play through the match. "Go, Nadjai!"

"IT'S FREAKING JAI!" You yelled, having your eyes completely shut tight by then. Why dry them out if you can't even use them? …Great politics, no? And if you weren't able to see it, then there was still the option of _hearing _it. But of course, since God had a grudge against you or something, just then even your hearing disappeared with a _plop!_

Of course, having lost your sense of hearing to by then, you were unable to get to the ball in time, just as it went past you in high speed. But you were happily unaware of that fact, so you continued standing on the same spot, waiting for the ball to come.

Everyone watching stared at you, some even laughed lowly, thinking of you as some moron. The three guys, though, started getting just a little worried about you, since you only stood there, staring blankly out in front of you. "I think she snapped …" Niou muttered. In the mean while, Yukimura walked over, jumped the net and stood in front of you. Then slowly, he poked you.

"Jai?"

No answer.

"Oi, Jai, are you alright?"

Still; no answer.

"_Nadjai_!" Using your _full_ name, he had hoped for even the slightest reaction, yet nothing happened – well, except for a little drool running down your chin. The trickster jumped over, with a more dignified Sanada right after him.

"What? She finally got the yips as she wanted?" The stoic boy asked, raising an eyebrow just a little.

"Looks like it."

Cackling evilly, Niou continued poking you. "I could get used to this. So entertaining!" He looked from Yukimura to Sanada. "Any of you got a pen?" He quickly began rustling through his pockets, muttering about; how annoying, not bringing a pen when needed!

Yukimura snapped a finger in front of you, but he still didn't get any reaction. "Ah … what should we do about this? Her captain will slay us completely, if she finds out I've destroyed her mind …"

"Wasn't it destroyed _before _you played her?" Niou questioned, taking out a red marker. "Or, that's the impression I got from her …" Shaking of the pondering thought, he started off by drawing two circles around your eyes. That was later on followed by a beard and some rather bushy eyebrows. Then he pulled back a little, admiring his work. "… I'm a true Michelangelo!" Apparently, _that _was his conclusion.

As he slowly moved closer to you again, having gotten the idea that red dots all over would make it even prettier, a hand suddenly got hold of his wrist. "Oi, Spiky-kun, what are you doing with that marker?" You questioned, tightening your grip.

"Oh?! You returned from the dead?"

"The … dead?" You asked slowly, wondering what had happened. Then it hit you. "I ended up in the yips?!" You exclaimed, sounding rather … happy. Well, being a total zombie is cool, I guess.

"Yeah …" Yukimura said slowly, feeling a little guilty – since, he was the one zombie-fying you. "What happened?"

"I have absolutely no idea!" Yet still you smiled. "Suddenly I just lost my eyesight and then … Puff! I couldn't hear anything either! It was really awesome! I can't wait till I try it in a match too!" Oh, you were pumped up now! You knew _exactly _what to do. And so you started grinning evilly, making the people around you slowly … back off.

"That's … great."

"Isn't it?!" You beamed happily at them all.

"You know, you should tell your captain, I'm sure she'd be glad to hear it too!" Niou said, smirking.

"What a wonderful idea." A voice said from behind you all. Your eye twitched, as you knew that voice too well from your nightmares. _It's … her, isn't it? _You thought. But then, pulling all your courage together, you turned to face the Devil herself. True enough, there she stood, along with the other captain, both smirking evilly. "Now there's an even bigger chance for our winning!" She said, giving you the thumps up.

"Then perhaps you won't loose in the first round as you usually do?" Zen butted in, making a vein pulse dangerously at the female captain's temple. One side of her mouth curled upwards, as she tried smiling, while she didn't have enough control over her temper to make the other one go up as well.

"H-how … funny. **Mention that ever again and I swear you'll be running laps for the rest of your life!**" She gave him an uppercut, which knocked him out completely.

You and your three friends all watched, scared yet impressed, as she dragged off the unconscious boys' captain.

"Aha …"

"That was … interesting."

"Oh, yeah, by the way ... Nice playing, Lumpy!"

Your eye twitched. "Who's ... a LUMPY?!"

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

A/N: please remember to review! I'm using precious time just to update for you all! Neh? So, off you go, little kids! Review please!


	14. The Fake Princess

A/N: The next couple of chapters might not be as long as the earlier ones. But it's hard writing them all 3000 words! No? But, I'll try to not make them _too _short though!

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

14 – The Fake Princess

Yukimura's POV

"Seiichi-kun, you're running late already!" You heard your mother calling from downstairs. Your head popped up at the sound, just as you had been in the middle of just stuffing down everything into your bag. _Late? _Your brow furrowed, while picking up the tennis bag. _Late for what? _Yes, you were a little drowsy in the morning – hey! Everyone is! Eyes wandering down onto the bag, it suddenly hit you. _Late? Late for the … tournament!_

Running down the stairs to the hallway, where you quickly got into your shoes, you made your way out into the garden. Your mother looked at you from the door, shouting at you for being late and hoping it would go well and … that you'd make the bus in time.

But, of course, did you make the bus in time?

"Wait!" You called out, just as the bus pulled away from the sidewalk and onto the road again. You sped down, reluctantly, looking after it. Then you sighed, sitting down at the bench. Twenty minutes until the next bus … and you were _already _running late by then!

"I'd better call the captain …" You said with a sigh, finding out your phone. "I'm _so _dead …"

Normal POV

With a sigh, the captain pressed a button, ending the conversation wich he had just had. The other regulars, who had all been gathered around him, searching looking around, turned their attentions towards him.

"So? He's coming?" The vice-captain Morita asked, glancing towards the entrance to the tennis-park.

Their _leader _sighed again, shaking his head. "There's no chance he can make it in time … He missed his bus and when the second came, there had been an accident up ahead … so now he can't get anywhere at all." He looked around on all the regulars. "We need a substitute."

"What? There's no one who's able to play 3rd singles!"

"No …"

"And we still got to hand in the line-up." Another of the regulars butted in.

"We don't have time to change it. We could of course move Sanada-kun to the 3rd singles, but then there's a spot free in doubles … so, we still would need to get someone _none-regular _into the game." Zen pondered, glancing towards the members of the tennis club, who had come to cheer them on. "I know! We hand in this form and dress someone up as Yukimura-kun! And then there's a chance he can make it in time and swap places!"

"… Only our captain could come up with _that_ …" The before-mentioned regular whispered to another. You needed to be completely shot in the head to think _that _would work. Yet, no one said anything against it, as laps around the park would probably be the only thing coming out of that …

"Then it's settled!" He said happily, scanning the area. "So …" He hm'ed. "First of all-"

Before he was able to say anything else, the girls' team had arrived, with a lot of cheerleader-dressed fan-girls after them. At the front, the all-famous sadistic captain walked, smirking as usual and dragging a rather depressed looking freshman after her. The two teams of regulars met each other. Miko raised her eyebrow, as she noticed their concerned looks. "Is there a problem?" She asked.

"One of our players hasn't turned up yet."

"Eh?" The freshman popped out from her sad state and looked around on the boys' regulars. "Seiichi-kun is missing?"

"Yeah." The captain quickly turned his attention towards the other again. "I was in the middle of looking for someone, who could take his place."

"Ah …"

"And as I said, we need someone who's not too tall." His eyes fell upon the other freshmen. "That can't be that hard."

"But then again, he needs to have some rather feminine looks." Miko chipped in.

Nadjai chuckled, but pressed her hands against her mouth, trying to silence herself – there was no need to draw the Demons' attention towards her.

"-And of course, he got to be able to sent people to the yips."

Both looked at each other.

"I only know two, who can do that." The female captain said, smirking.

This caught the youngest of the girl regulars' attention. "Eh? I didn't know there was another. I thought it was only Seiichi-kun and …" It dawned on her. "… Me …"

Her eye twitched, just when all eyes turned to her.

"Why me …?" She muttered.

"She's just the right height! And- well, there's no way she ain't girly!"

"-Luckily …" She muttered. There were some downsides if you were a girl, but didn't look like it. So … that was a compliment, right? She decided to think so.

"And she is able to sent people to the yips – or, you can right?"

"I think I got it under control, yup." Then her brow furrowed. "Actually, no, I certainly can't! I suck at it! Really! You shouldn't use me, everyone would figure out I'm not him!"

"You're just trying to get off the hook, right?"

She sighed, knowing perfectly well, that there was no way for her to get out of the trouble. So … she gave up, letting herself get dragged off by her captain to get changed. "Can't be helped …"

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

Your POV

"Seriously …" You muttered. "You got to be mentally unstable to fall for this …" First of all, how could a beautiful, well-developed girl like you possible go for a boy?! Seriously! That jersey was a little _too _tight, which made you wonder exactly _where _they had gotten it. _Got to be a seven year olds … _You thought annoyed, trying to pull the edge near your neck, as you got pretty much strangled. To further your annoyance they had actually found out some _dye_! Who, WHO, had been in their right mind and brought a freaking purple-coloured dye with them to a TENNIS TOURNAMENT?! And WHO would dye your HAIR?!

"Call down, Lumpy, watch the blood-pressure." Miku told you, glancing back towards you, yet still continuing to walk. Your eye twitched.

"I wouldn't mind getting a heart-attack …" You muttered, kicking pebbles on the way. Why was it _you_, who ended up in the worst situations?! Okay, perhaps it was your own fault somehow on the way through disaster, but … still! It was _always _you! Crying in your mind, you noticed how pretty much EVERYONE from your school started breaking down laughing, as they noticed you. _What's so funny? _You scowled, glaring at the nearest bundle of Yukimura-fan-girls, who were actually _blushing_.

_WHAT THE HECK?!_

"I'm scared …" You whispered, trying to hide behind the regular, whom you had bonded the most with; Joruni. She glanced down at you, chuckling. "Seriously!" You continued glaring at everyone around you, hissing like a rabies-hit cat. "If this continues … I- I might end up cross-dressing!"

This certainly made her stare. "_What_?!"

You beamed. "I prefer shorts."

"… That was _so _random!"

"**Enough about your transvestite-talk!**" The Demon Captain yelled at the two of you, grabbing your shirt and pushing you towards the boys. Of course her outburst about _that_ had made everyone burst out laughing once again. Somehow … Wasn't it _really _hot suddenly, or were you just blushing? _Let it be the heat_. "Now! Here you go, your very own copy of Yukimura-kun!"

"I do so much not look like him …!"

"Well …" Zen said slowly, walking around you. "I think it can work …" He pulled down in your jersey, which made your eyes pop.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" You screeched at him, jumping back. "If; you weren't my senior and _at the moment _my captain – somewhat? – I would TOTALLY slap you!"

He only shrugged. "I didn't see anything- _much_."

"…" Soon, very soon, you would so much KILL them! "Youdidnotseeanythingmuchwhattheheckareyouthinkingyoupervert?!"

You started stomping off, but your _former _captain grabbed you and pulled you back. "You just have to live with it for a while!"

"What if I don't want to?" You whined. "All I wanted was a _normal _middle-school life! Why can't I have that?! Huh? Why can everybody else live like that – why not me?! I didn't want to end up like this … it's all Riku's fault! I will KILL her!"

"Oh … someone's PMS'ing or what?"

"Drama Queen." Someone else suggested.

Your mouth dropped, then tears slowly came up in your eyes. "You people are so _mean_!" You threw your hands up into the air, sighing. "Can't we just destroy the opponents so I can come home or what?"

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

"_The match between Rikkai Dai Fuzoku vs. Sagami Gakuen will now begin-_"

"Someone … seriously, kill me." You looked at the opponents, who all seemed to be big – compared to you. _I'll get crushed?! _Standing on a line, you found your in-between Yanagi and Sanada, which made you feel a little … safer. At least you got your two buddies with you. Both of them looked like this was easy for them, but then again – they weren't the one, who was dressed as a boy! Hello! Well, they _were_ since they were _boys _normally too, but you were a girl cross-dressing as a boy! That was the difference! You'd so much talk with a therapist about that later on in your life ...

"_Captains of both schools, step forward!_" The 'voice in the speaker' said, making Zen and some other dude go a couple of steps ahead, making them stand in front of the net. Then they shook hands, coming with the normal "Nice to meet you – let's play with no regrets" and bla, bla.

Your head dropped, as this was pretty boring, if you'd might say. _And _you had found a certain _someone _outside your house, before it was even 8 AM and yelled at you until you had gotten dressed and ready. Where had the captain gotten your address from?! That was highly private!

"_Doubles 2 will now begin, Sanada-Yanagi vs. (name-name) - the best of 1 set match. Rikkai service play!"_

Thinking there still was a long time until you had to play, you curled up into a ball on the tributes behind the coach's bench – well, after you had wished your two friends luck. _Not that they need it or anything! _You thought, closing your eyes. Trying to shut out the noises from the cheering crowd, you in stead started humming.

"**Outside the carollers start to sing**

**I can't describe the joy they bring**

**Cause joy is something they don't bring me**"

The nearest people glanced towards you, as if a giant sign above you read: I'm a freak, deal with it or die. Only glancing, since they had a slight hunch they'd get killed else-way. Staring was a no-no.

"**My girlfriend is by my side**

**From the roof are hanging sickles of ice**

**Their whiny voices get irritating**

**It's Christmas time again**"

The match had started and it was easy to see, that the Sagami-kids had no chance at all. They were totally owned by Gen-chan and Renji-kun. _Go them_. You thought, continuing with the singing.

"**So I stand with a dead smile on my face**

**Wonder how much of my time they'll waste**

**Oh God I hate these Satan's helpers**"

"She is mentally disturbed." The captain suggested. "Don't you think?"

"Yes …" The vice-captain agreed.

"**And then I guess I must have snapped**

**Because I grabbed a baseball bat**

**And made them all run for shelter**"

"Somehow … I get an idea we should just forfeit before the world ends …"

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"_Rikkai wins, 6-0._"

Blinking slowly, you sat up again, watching as Yanagi and Sanada shook hands with their opponents after having totally crushed them. _Hadn't predicted that! Tsk, as if … _You stretched happily, watching as the next pair walked onto court.

But you listened more to all the muttering around you, as people were absolutely astonished a couple of freshmen could have won that easily – _that easily _was without breaking a sweat and not losing a single point. _Well, _you thought. _They aren't completely normal, are they? _

They sat down near you, both trying to ignore the aura of happiness and must-hug coming from your side off. They probably thought, as long as they don't look over there, nothing would happen. But, as the feeling grew, they started shifting impatient. "Buddies!" You sang, edging closer. "Well fought!"

Renji completely ignored you, or- he was just too busy trying to gather data about the newly started match. But the one closest to you, was unable to get away from you. Poor Sanada got crushed in a hug, pressing out all of his air. Though, he kept his poker-face, trying to ignore you too. Somewhat, he was starting to get used to it. "You guys totally dominated the court! I'm so proud!"

But before you could cuddle him any further, a racket made a rather hard impact with your head. _Bock! _Your eye twitched, while you hissing moved your head up to meet the captain's. "Oi, cut it out! First of all, that ain't your body now is it? You're supposed to be Yukimura-kun at the moment and I'm positive he isn't into boys."

Your eyes widened as you quickly pulled away. _Oh my GOD! _Laughing nervously, you looked around, wondering just exactly how many had seen that. "That wasn't supposed to happen … sorry …?" You innocently smiled at the captain, hoping you wouldn't be killed because of it.

But of course … how very well you knew that sadistic smirk. "Actually … I think you should do a couple of laps – just to warm up for your turn."

You rolled your eyes. As if it was only warm-up. He was punishing you; you could see it in his eyes! "Err …"

"I think twenty laps would do the job." He said casually, turning his attention towards the match once again. "Off you go, _princess_."

And so you had to be punished. Just because you had hugged someone when you were dressed as a boy! Jeez, you were a girl none the less, and they couldn't change that! But still, as you opened your mouth to retort, you felt a glare from not far away … you turned your head and met … _her._

"Rather die than make her mad …" You muttered.

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Yukimura's POV

_Finally … _You sighed out in relief, as you stood in front of the tennis-park. After having waited in the bus for an hour or so, you had finally been able to get there. Oh, how the captain would kill you. You just knew it. Yet still, you smiled. _Interesting. _Chuckling, you were about to move in through the entrance, when someone suddenly crashed into you.

Falling to the ground, you heard a rather familiar voice, cursing. "Oi, _buddy, _watch where you're going; or I'll stab you and throw you into a dumpster! Got that, _buddy_?"

"Wow, easy Nadjai-chan." You said smiling, quickly pulling yourself up. "That's not a way to talk to a _buddy_." Then you finally looked at her. Your mouth fell open. "_Why _are you dressed as _me_?!"

The corners of her mouth turned slightly upwards, as she grimaced. "Well …" She scratched the back of her head, now laughing nervously. "You see, since you didn't show up and I was _unluckily _to be found near your captain – with my captain there too – I was the victim …" She motioned for her clothes. "So, I am officially you!"

"… I see …"

Then you both walked for the courts, making a LOT of people stare at you. _Twins much? _Well, Nadjai certainly looked like you, but still … you weren't scowling 24/7, were you? Nor did you suddenly burst out laughing in the most serious of times. It may be, she had the looks, but not the perfect personality.

"So, I'm really glad you had time to come, princess." She said sarcastic.

"Why do you always call me princess?" You asked, perhaps turning just a little bit annoyed over it? Really, what boy would possible be HAPPY to be called _princess_. The answer is – of course – NONE!

"Because you're my little princess!"

"… That is seriously disturbing and I understand; I shouldn't have asked …"

"No."

But now you had finally made your way all the way to the courts once again, just as the Doubles 1 had ended. Once again it was another ultimate win for Rikkai Dai; 6-0. Those opponents had to see a therapist, when you were done with them.

"O-I! Captain!" Nadjai yelled, catching everyone's attention. "Look who I found! Can I go home now?!"

What a way to point you out, eh?

Why not rather put up a giant, flashing sign?!

"**NADJAI!**"

"Oh no … she's mad." You heard the freshman-girl next to you mutter, starting to become scared.

"**TWENTY LAPS!**"

"WHAT? How come?!" She yelled back.

The entire _park _would soon know what was going on, thanks to that volume of sound.

"**For pointing out the fact that their 3rd singles hadn't shown up before now!**"

Her mouth dropped. "Didn't you just-"

"**Are you going against me?**"

"N-no!"

"**Make it thirty in stead!**"

"EH?! That isn't fair! I just did twenty!"

"**Fourty!**"

"Perhaps you should run too, since you pointed it out more than I did just a minute ago!"

"**Fifty!**"

"Sooner or later you can't set me to run anymore!"

"**One-hundred!**"

"If you continue, then I QUIT!"

"**Two-hundred!**"

"I QUIT! I QUIT! I _QUIT_!"

Then you stomped off, but as if the captain would let you have the final word. "**Until you're dead!**"

You looked after your friend, who angrily had set off into a run. But then, as the female captain suddenly started wailing, you looked down to the tennis-players. "WAHHHH! She's mad at me!"

_I should have picked another school …_

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REVIEW please! x.x Even though I started with saying it wasn't that long, it still became 3000 or so words -.- Guess I can't write _a little. _XD Oh well, as long as you enjoy reading it, I guess it's alright? I'm not quite sure how I see the female captain ... she's sort of bossy, but ... Why did I make her cry in the end?! Perhaps she's secretly in love with Nadjai and forces her to compete in everything, just to be close to her?! Gasp! You never know ... but ... I wouldn't believe what I just said! XD

REVIEWS are highly apreciated!


	15. Forgive Me

Random talk from the author at the bottom! :)

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**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

15 – Forgive me

Your POV

_Bring! Bring! Bring! _Slowly, you opened your eyes, yawning, as the phone on the table next to you went on. You turned your head and fumbled in the dark, trying to find it - let's all just forget about the flashes it sent out (you were pretty much blind?). Then your hand grabbed around it and you looked at the caller's ID. Apparently, it was an unknown number. "Okay …?"

You pressed a button and held it to your ear.

"Hello?" You asked sleepily.

"Please forgive me!"

"Who is it?" Your mind being rather blurry (only 4 AM), you were unable to make out the voice – yet still, it was familiar. But; from where …?

"Please, forgive me."

"You know, I can't forgive you, if I don't know who it is!"

"Just … can't you forgive me?"

"… Seriously, who is it?"

"Forgive-"

"Never mind." Yawning, you hung up and placed it on the table again. "What a weirdo." Cursing under your breath, you snuck down under the covers again, trying to fall asleep once again. "Darn it … Ruining my sleep …"

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Miku's POV

Wailing out, you woke up the rest of your family. "Wahhh!" Tears running down your cheeks, you looked at the phone in your hand. "S-she won't t-t-talk with meee!"

The door into your room got opened quickly. Furiously glaring at you; stood your older sister. "What the heck are you doing in the middle of the night?! Waking up the entire neighbourhood?!"

"B-b-but- J-Jai d-doesn't w-want to t-talk w-with me!"

The older sister's brow furrowed and she walked over to your bed. "What? Who's Jai?" Sitting down on the edge, she slowly, not quite sure what to do, patted your head. "Do you have problems with your love-life?"

Your eye twitched, as you suddenly stopped with crying. "No."

"Oh … who's Jai then?"

"She's the most wonderful freshman in school!" Your eyes turned dreaming, making your sister stare at you, freaked out.

"I-I … see."

"But she got mad at me yesterday and she probably won't be a part of the club anymore!"

"Have you tried talking to her?"

"That's what I just said! She doesn't want to talk with me!"

"Ah …"

"But I'll make her!" You suddenly exclaimed, standing up, while throwing your fist into the air. "Or destroy the Earth trying!" Going into an evil chuckle, your sister left the room _quite fast_. "I'll make her cover in fear, never having the courage to ever go against me again! She _will _return to the team! No matter what!"

Oh yes, only doom was waiting up ahead for the unlucky freshman.

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Your POV

_Beep! Beep! Beep! _At least, this time it wasn't your phone and some weird person, asking for your forgiveness (luckily). No, it was your alarm clock. It was time you got up and got ready for another day of school.

Somehow, you felt really refreshed, while you jumped out of bed. Quickly, you looked through the pile of clothes on the ground for your uniform and quickly changed. Afterwards you made your way into the kitchen, where your mother had tried, once again, to cook breakfast for you. "Good morning." You greeted cheerfully.

"Oh?" She looked up at you. "You seem happy today." Your mother smiled at you, but then turned her attention towards the coffee-machine, as the coffee was _burning?!_

"Yeah, I have a feeling this is going to be a great day today!"

To bad your predictions normally didn't come true …

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"Forgive me!"

"Oh …" You said slowly, side-stepping the female captain, who had just thrown herself at you, right after you had stepped outside your door. In stead of crushing you in a hug, as she probably had imagined in her mind at first, she slammed into the door with a loud bang. "It was you …" Completely ignoring the now deep in pain _ex-_captain behind you; you whistling started walking for the bus. What a lovely day-

-If of course you looked past the wailing person following you …

"F-forgive m-m-me!" She crying got hold of your bag, which had been slung over your shoulder, trying to drag you back into the darkness. But no way, you'd let her do that! Mustering all of your power, you pressed your feet hard against the pavement, trying to drag yourself ahead and not _back. _"Get. Of. Off. Me!" You annoyed retorted to her, still trying to shake her off.

"Not before you forgive me!"

"What the heck is with you and that bloody FORGIVE ME?!" You snapped, stopping up at the bus-stop, turning towards the elder girl. "It's driving me insane _and _you messed up my sleeping-habit!" Your eye twitched, glaring at her.

"B-but … I was being unfair to you y-yesterday! I shouldn't have yelled at you, nor making you do that many laps!"

"…" You sighed. "Do you really think I did those laps?"

She nodded. "Of course! When your captain tells you to, then it's obvious you'd listen to her!"

"… Seriously?"

"Yes." She looked as if she _really _believed in it.

"Ah …" _I think I'll let her stay in her happy knowing-nothing state. Well … _You smirked. _Just a little longer. _You glanced towards the captain, hugging your leg, crying out loudly. _Anyways … this might be quite interesting to mess around with her! _

"So!" Once again you felt yourself being completely destroyed in a hug, the tearful girl clinging onto you for dear life. "Can you please – PLEASE – forgive me?!"

You took a deep breath, looked into her watery eyes, smiling sweetly at her, then … "No." You stated, baring your teeth in an evil smirk. "Sorry." You added, sounding sorry not a single bit.

Before the captain had a chance to throw herself out in front of a car, the bus had arrived and not caring at all, you climbed onboard, watching as it drove off, leaving the other behind. Too bad, as she had yelled threatening at the bus-driver (thank you Captain Voice), it had pulled over once again, letting her in. You quickly sunk down as low in your seat as possible, hoping she's pass you. But …

"Forgive me?"

"GET AWAY FROM ME WOMAN!"

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Slumping down into your chair in the classroom, you sighed out. Your eyelids closed happily, taking in the silence … This _is life. _You thought happily, but then you heard a sound next to you. The sound of a chair getting dragged out and someone sitting down. "Wow!" Riku exclaimed, looking at you. "You look exhausted!"

Your eye twitched. "Yes." You only stated, trying to give off the impression of: 'SHUT UP ALREADY!'

But, once again, you were only surrounded by retards, so there was no way she got the hint. "What's the problem? Is it something with your love-life?" She winked. "Having trouble in paradise with Seiichi-kun."

"_Why _does people always thing, that if you are down, the problem is that _freaking _love-life?! And _what_? Seiichi-kun?! Since when have I been with the princess?!"

She shrugged. "Dunno, probably because; you look like some love-hungering she-bear."

"… Okay …" _I do? I so much need a mirror ..._

"Well, if it ain't _the love_, what is it then?"

"Wouldn't you feel down, if you get a call in the middle of the night, a freak asking for your forgiveness?"

"… Probably …"

"Right. But that isn't all. Before you know off it, you're going to school and get tackled by the same _monster_, STILL asking for that damn forgiveness!" You slammed your head onto the table, sighing out loudly. "I really need sleep …" You muttered.

"Who's the monster?" Riku asked, still not having a clue.

"Well, what if I say, she's able to blow down a door with her voice?"

"… The captain …"

"Yeah …"

"What did you do?"

"I'm not sure, but-"

"Forgive me?"

"Get the hell out of here, you bloody pestilence!" Your head snapped up and you glared at the senior in the door. "Don't you have class or something?!"

"Forgive me?"

"NO! NO! NO!"

"Meanie!" She pouted.

"WHY THE HECK?!"

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The bell rang, telling everyone it was about time they all dug into their bags and pulled out their lunch, since – of course – it was lunchtime! Happily, having forgotten _all _about the poor, depressed captain, you found out your bento and opened up. Your brow furrowed, glaring at the insides of it. _And _that _is why I tell mom to NEVER make my lunch … _Discarding it right away – not even wanting to know, what it was – you sighed and stared out ahead of you. Riku raised an eyebrow, propped some rice into her mouth and glanced towards you and your lunch. "Is there a problem with that too?" She asked.

You nodded, starting get the feeling; this _wasn't _a good day. "My mom made it."

"Oh, I can't see the pro-" You held it up to her. "… Right … I see." Her brow furrowed too. "That's actually really disturbing."

"Tell me about it."

"Forgive me?"

"… You _still _haven't given up?"

"No, and I won't before you forgive me!"

"… Can't you just leave me alone?"

"No."

"Go away …"

"No."

"You're testing my patience, so; go away before I explode."

"No."

"If you don't go away _right now_, I will never forgive you-"

_Zoom! _

She had already disappeared down the hall.

You looked after her. _Weren't that hard. _Then you hit your hands together. "Ah!"

"Huh?" Miko turned towards you again, just as she had been scribbling down something in one of her books – _darn, that girl and homework!_

"I should have made her get some lunch for me!" You exclaimed, cursing in your mind about your stupidity. "She would so much have done it!"

"You wanted the _captain _get you _lunch_? What is she, a loafer?!"

You smirked. "At the moment? Yes. And anyways-" You leaned back in your chair, staring at your growling stomach. "I don't think she'd mind – especially if I said I might forgive her."

"_Might_?"

Your smirk widened. "Ya … You see, _after _she has gotten it for me, I'll say I still will not forgive her. I have a feeling I might be able to pull this stunt a little further."

"Darn, cunning girl."

"I know!" You beamed.

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Whistling, you started walking for the school entrance, feeling _SO! _happy at the moment. And want to know why? Well, let's play the song going on in your head, shall we?

_Oh, there's no tennis for me!_

_No! No tennis!_

_I'm totally free! Free, free!_

_La la la la_

Yes, you were never that good at making anything _interesting _when making poets in school, but it made the point quite clear, no? There was no tennis for you, since you had pretty much yelled at the captain yesterday about quitting. So, you were free as the bird, soaring in the sky! And no one could possible stop you! No one-!

_Smack!_

"Please don't go, please don't go!"

At first, you thought it was the captain and had already pulled out a baseball bat, ready to hit a homerun, but then again … had the captain always had six arms? Thinking back, you forgot the idea … she _was _a freak, but not that much. So in stead of sending someone to the hospital, you glanced down and saw …

The two twin-girls and Joruni were all hugging onto your legs for dear life. Your eyebrow quickly scurried up. "_What _exactly are you doing to my leg?" _Ah, wrong images! _Shaking your head to get the _pictures _out, you in stead focused on them again, noticing they were actually _crying_? "What the …?" You slowly muttered, but then they started wailing at you again, catching the attention of EVERYONE around you. Your eye twitched, but then you sighed, bowing down. "Okay, okay, what's the problem?"

_And _I _am the freshman?! Everyone is acting as if they were only seven!_

Shinobu and Shioko both continued rubbing their heads against your leg – _what the heck?! _– but Joruni looked up at you, tears springing out from her eyes. "You _really _need to come back."

"… Come back where?"

"To the tennis club!" All three of them cried in chorus.

"No way." You only stated, starting to walk – as much as possible with three seniors clinging onto your legs.

"Why not?"

"_Why _do you _think_?!" You snapped, throwing your hands into the air and coming to a halt once again. "Of course since _she _is there. I'm not going to forgive her, no matter how much she tries!" _Even though I still not totally get, what she has done wrong … but that's another story! _

"Please!"

"No."

"Please, please, please, please, please!"

"No – and puppy-dog eyes doesn't work either, sorry. SO CUT IT OUT!"

"PLEASE!"

"Well …" You took a deep breathe, their heads snapping up to you. "Let me think about it …" Their eyes widened; would you …? "No." Never mind …

"Hm …" Joruni paused and then suddenly dragged the two siblings away with her. Then they started whispering among each other, much to your annoyance – but also, you started getting a little worried … this didn't look good. _They are up to something … _

One by one they looked up at you, grinning broadly.

"I'm doomed …"

"Then!" Joruni popped up next to you, making you jump back a meter. She grabbed your arm. "We just have to force you to come with us!"

"Eh?"

"Yes." Shinobu got your other arm.

"Eh?!"

"So, stop resisting." Shioko got both your legs.

"EH?!"

"It's useless …" They all said, running off with you in a cloud of dust.

"EEEEHHHHH?!"

People near by looked after you, a couple of girls muttering among each other.

"What just happened?"

"Someone got abducted?"

"Don't worry, don't worry!" A passing senior told them all reassuring. "It's just the tennis club; it's normal!"

"…"

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"Now, watch!" Joruni ordered, putting a hand on each side of your head and turning you towards the courts. At first you just stared, thinking _what the heck?! _as everything just seemed completely normal. The seniors were playing as usual. The juniors were ordering around the smaller girls. And the freshmen, when not picking up balls, sighed dreamingly towards the boys' courts not far away.

"Err … I'm not quite sure what it is, I'm supposed to _watch_."

But Joruni didn't have to point it out to you, as you then saw _it_. The captain just stood against the fence, staring out ahead of herself onto the nothingness. Once every ten seconds she let out a single word – if that even was a word. "Ah …" Your eye twitched. _How easy does she get depressed?! _

Then you figured out you really didn't care and turned your head upwards, towards the senior. "And? It's just a zombie, there's tons of them in my class – I can reassure you; it's quite normal for a girl in her age, she's just a little tired of school, that's all." You diagnosed, eyebrow raised.

"AND?! Look at her! Our captain is totally out of it! She hasn't even yelled _laps _today. Normally, by now she'd have yelled it at least ten times! She hasn't! She hasn't!" _I got it the first time, you don't have to repeat yourself ..._ "It's the end of the world."

"How overdramatic …" You muttered, watching her again. You might actually like the new captain of _Ah! _better. "Anyways, isn't it nice being forced to run laps each twenty seconds?"

"Ah …"

"Well, of course I've never _liked _running around all the time, but it isn't only that!" She pointed towards the chaos on the courts. "The seniors are too weak to control all of the juniors, and so the freshmen get tormented! Do you really want that?"

"Honestly I don't care." You stated. "And anyways, isn't it the fukubuchou who should keep order on court, _if _the captain is unable - or should I say un_stalbe_? -to do so? Why doesn't she just do it?"

"Err …" Joruni pointed up ahead, where some juniors were hitting balls towards a rather small senior, who was wearing the regular's jersey. "Since _that _is the vice-captain."

Your sighed. "That explains a lot …"

"Ah …"

"So, do you want to re-join the team?"

"That would still be a no."

"If you don't return, the entire team will soon die, self-destructing!"

"… That would be pretty cool …"

"Can't you take it serious?!"

"… I am …"

"No, you're not! One for all, and all for one."

"_I _am the one who should take it seriously?! You're the one suddenly dragging the Three Musketeers into it all! What have they ever done to you?!"

"I was just trying to say, that even if you have to sacrifice yourself, you bloody got to do it to save the rest!"

"Why the heck would I sacrifice myself for someone I really don't care about?!"

"Ah …"

The two twin-girls both watched you and the senior argue. Then they glanced at each other. "Do you have any idea of what is going on?"

The other shook her head. "None. Though; I think they are discussing movies?"

"Ah …"

"No way! Porthos is _way _better!" Joruni snapped at you.

"Nu-uh! Aramis could own Porthos _and _Athos at the same time, with one hand tied to his back!"

"Tsk, as if!"

"Yes! Anyways, d'Artagnan is the best!"

"Yeah, couldn't agree more."

Both of you nodded, having come to an agreement. But of course, you couldn't back away from a challenge. No way she'd think a draw was perfectly fine with you! "Red Power Ranger could beat all four of them though …" You muttered.

Joruni's eye twitched. "Blue Power Ranger rules!"

"Ah …"

"This is just … strange." Shioko said slowly.

"Yeah …"

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"I give up! I give up!" You exclaimed, dropping to the ground as a bundle of … bones? Well, anyways, discussing the strongest movie-characters really was a bad idea – _if _your opponent was Joruni. There was NO movie she hadn't seen! It was freaking you out!

Smirking triumphantly down at you, she stood – hands on her hips – grinning broadly. "Fine, but then you are going to march over to the captain and say that you forgive her. Got that?"

You sighed. "Alright …" You muttered, grabbing the girl's arm and lifted yourself up. _Can't be helped … And I guess it's for the best. "_One for all …"

"And all for one." She finished.

Everyone stopped what they were doing, as you walked over the courts. The freshmen looked at you in awe – _I'm an idol or what? _– which made you grin broadly, giving you just a little more confidence. Then again, you _were _going into the lion's den to wake the sleeping beast. You certainly needed that courage! You stopped up in front of the muttering captain – "Ah …" – took a deep breathe and said the long-awaited three words:

"_I forgive you_ …"

_AH! Give me a bucket, I think I need to- Too late …_

But before you had a chance of running screaming away, the older girl in front of you blinked. Not once, not twice, but trice! Then the dark eyes turned down and met yours. You gulped. _What have I done? What have I done?! I should have saved myself! _

Yet then something, which you had not expected, happened. Her face lit up in a bright smile and she hugged you. "Yay!" She exclaimed, slinging you around happily.

_Okay … I prefer her killing me then!_

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To everyone's utmost joy, the captain had finally returned to the living! Well, except for you, who painfully rubbed your sides, as your ribs had been literally crushed. _That hurts! _You cried in your mind, watching as the captain had made everyone gather up in the normal by-rank lines.

But suddenly, the exorcism backfired, and the merry captain turned into her normal, devilish self. _Much better …!_

"**What do you think you were doing? Don't you think I've been watching you?**" Oh yes, she was back … "**Juniors; twenty laps for picking on the freshmen! Seniors; fifty laps for not doing anything about it! Freshmen; one-hundred for letting yourself get picked on!**"

_Wow, that's fair …_

"And you …" She turned to face you, making you gulp down hard. "**Three-hundred laps!**"

Your mouth dropped, while your blood started boiling, blood-pressure going up by a thousand at least. "For _what _exactly?! What did I do?!"

"**Don't make me get out the list!**"

"WHAT LIST?!" You yelled back at her, as a happy Joruni dragged you with her on your Quest of Laps. "THIS IS SO _NOT _FAIR!"

_Okay, scratch my earlier statement, I _SO _much want the hugging captain back!_

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

Yes, it is now time to I.Hate.Running's Happy Corner (also known as IHRHC)! Well, it is only sometimes that I will make this, since it's when I stumble across things I've thought about.

1. What colour is Yukimura's hair actually?! I know, in my story I've written it is purple, but other places I've read it's blue or whatever. So, I've been wondering. Anyone out there who knows it? :D

2. What kind of personality does the earlier mentioned purple/blue-haired buddy have? I'm a pretty lousy judge of humans ... and I think he's a _princess_, but I have read other stories and he turns out to be a sadist - just like Fuji! And I _know _Fuji is the reincarnation of the Devil himself - but what about sweet, innocent Yukimura? Just want to know, since I prefer to not make any of my characters OOC! :)

3. This isn't really a question, more of a command! Hehe, I'd like to know if any of my other characters seem OOC - now or later on - so feel free to rack me down int he reviews and what do I know! Because I want it to be the best of the best for all of you!

4. Reviews are the only things I want for my Birthday - but now wouldn't be that bad either! :) So! Go crazy you guys!

5. What's flames in reviews? Oo I know, I'm a little clueless! But I think I have a hunch ... it's something bad, right? But still, as I _always _say: 'As long as it is reviews, I don't care - not even if it's _You got three days left to live in_.'

Okay, I.Hate.Running's happy corner; over and out!


	16. Would You Like Some Cake?

Author: Since I don't really have the time to answer my mails or anything, then there's no private messaging – nor any answers through the reviews. So, I'm doing it here in stead!

So, thank you to:

rIkKaIaWeSoMe, pontaalover (I love ponta!), Flarire, DarkShadowMuffin (I love muffins too!), Xandochu (anon.), leighanna (anon.), Rikkaifan (anon.). Thank you all for reviewing! You're SO MUCH making my day brighter! Then again … anything can make school seem like Hell … not that it ain't already … But THANK YOU! You will all receive a happy smiley with the mail! XD

Oh yeah, to Xandochu and Rikkaifan; thanks for answering my questions in IHRHC, it helps a lot!

And once again, to Xandochu; you've read my Quizilla work too? Ooh! Well … I'm not sure when I'm going to update there, since I've explained in one of the journals that I can't come back lately. I only update on FF because we have laptops in school – though no Internet (what's the point then …?) – and I write PRD in Word. But I'll see when I can make something for it! :)

Right … No flames thank you … Just found out what it is O.o – certainly no flames! Hehe!

Now, enough of me talking, on with the story! (Already more than 40k words!)

This is a _short _one – if you compare to the rest of my chapters at least -.-

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

16 – Would You Like Some Cake?

Your POV

"Rule number one-" The teacher started off, walking back and forth between the disks, sternly watching each and everyone of you.

"-Never let Jai stay alone in the kitchen …" Riku muttered next to you, snickering. You only glared at her, shaking your head rather annoyed. _I can be alone in a kitchen! Really! Just because my mom is worse than a nuclear bomb, when she's near a mixer, doesn't mean I am too! _You thought annoyed, only half-heartedly listening to what the teacher reprimanded you all. Not like you didn't know anyways.

_Knifes aren't used to throw at people._

_Boiling water _does _hurt, so there's no point in trying._

_Never put water onto boiling oil either._

_If your food tastes like iron, check if all fingers are, where they are supposed to be._

And so on …

So, why again was it, that you were in the kitchen? Well, of course it's since your class was cooking. Too bad your teacher seemed to be an old chef in the _military _or something, since there sure were a LOT of rules _and _he could only make _yucky!_-food. But none the less, you were divided into groups of four, placed by your own disk. You looked around on your group, containing not only Riku but two other girls, whom you were quite sure, had never held a spoon in their lives. _This'll surely get interesting. "_Alright, we'd better get started, right?"

"What are we supposed to make?"

"Pie." You stated, watching the recipes on the table in front of you. "Anyone tried it before?"

"…" _Utmost silence_.

"I see …" Scratching your head, you started looking through the drawers for the needed stuff; bowls and so on. In the mean time, Riku was happily chatting with the two others, which of course made you a little ticked off. _So much for helping, eh? _Trying to reach a bowl, that had been pushing all the way back into a cabinet, you suddenly heard your best friend call out to you. "Jai-?"

"Huh?" Before you knew off it – or had thought about it – you pulled up, making your head slam directly into the wooden board above you. _Duck! _"BLOODY –beeped- -beep- -beep- in –beeping- -beep-!" You yelled out, owning a lot of gasps and someone dropping a bowl in shock.

The Principal's POV

"-beeping- -beep-!" You stared at your secretary, both of your eyes completely opened up in horror. What the heck was that?!

"That sounded like- …" She trailed off.

"Yes …"

"We really should do something about her, before the entire school get's polluted."

"I know, but- she's scary …"

Your POV

But not caring one bit you pulled out again, turning towards Riku, who was lazily staring back at you – she hadn't reacted one bit after your outburst. Hey! You learned it from her anyways. "_What_?" You snapped at her, rubbing the now sour spot on the back of your head.

"Just wanted to suggest you gave a piece of the pie to Seiichi-kun, when it's finished."

Your eye twitched. "That's all? Seriously … couldn't you have asked _later_? And anyways, _WHY_?!"

"Well, you and Seiichi-kun seems so close lately-" She started, but before she could come with her speech about the _Oh so great __Lamour__!_, you had cut her off.

"I'm not listening! Lalala!"

But then again, there was no chance for you to listen any further, as a dark shadow suddenly popped up behind you. Your eye twitched, since _everyone _knows, that if a dark shadow pops up behind you; run. And that was, what you were planning to do. _You won't take me ali- Urgh! _Of course, being a teacher, you have to understand the minds of children, and he had figured out yours. "Don't move one bit, missy." He stated, having grabbed the back of your shirt, pretty much strangling you.

_That's child abuse! Somewhat …__ I think … _You glanced back towards him, pondering about what exactly you had done wrong this time. "Wha'?"

"You know, you don't use that kind of tone in school." He said lowly.

"… A normal one?" You suggested, shrugging.

"No."

"No?"

"No." He repeated, slowly guiding you away from the curious girls from your group. "That certainly isn't something a normal middle school-girl should yell out in the middle of class. It's just not right. If you were a sailor or something, then I guess you should be proud of it … but, I prefer if you don't speak like that in school. Do you understand?"

A vein pulsed near his temple as he turned his gaze down onto you again. You had heard not one bit of what he had been telling you, in stead you were in the middle of chatting with Riku over the phone. Let's just say, teachers doesn't like getting ignored …

"PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE, RIGHT NOW!"

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

"I didn't do anything wrong! So _what _if I'm cursing enough to make a sailor proud? What the -beep- is wrong with that -beeping- teacher?!" Your annoyed outburst was followed by a couple of more minutes going in circles with you racking down the teachers, the principal, the teachers, the principal, Riku, the teachers, school, hummingbirds, the teachers, Riku, Riku and another five minutes about Riku.

Riku shrugged, eating a piece of extra pie, glancing towards your 1/4th of it, as her stomach growled nonstop. Rolling your eyes, you pulled it a little further away from her. "Aw, can't I have it?"

"Nah."

"But didn't you say; that you didn't like apples?"

"Yes."

"But … why can't I have it then?!"

"Because it's _you_. I just think it is funny tormenting you like this!" You had been a little annoyed when Riku had showed you the pie, they had made earlier (while you were in the principal's office – again). First of all, you can't say it looked delicious, actually not even edible. Secondly, they had made it with apples, one of the only fruits that you didn't like. So, you didn't get any of the sweets that day! Of course you could just hand it over to her, but would that be funny? Nah …!

She pouted. "Meanie." But suddenly, as she had MAJOR mood-swings, she grinned broadly. "Fine, if you don't want to give it to me, there's always Seiichi-kun!"

You stared blankly at her. "No."

"Why not?"

"Why do you think?"

"Dunno."

"If I _did _give it to him, then you'd go on about your _freaking _love all day and sing, that we are sitting in a tree or whatever!"

"But- …"

"And anyways!" You cut her off. "If I gave something to him, I'd be sure at least Strawberry-kun would be all over me, wanting some too." You grimaced. "And I have just had my nails done … think if one of them broke!"

"You seriously is a … oh, I don't know!"

_I know what you mean. _You thought, glaring daggers at her. Then, sighing, you stood up. "Fine! I'll give him some, than leave me alone! You're annoying me!" Leaving the room, you heard her yell after you:

"Everyone annoys you!"

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

The door into class 1-3 slipped open, revealing a certain cloud of thunder. The people nearest, chatting happily together and eating their lunch, suddenly were turned into dust, the ground where the feet touches, erupted into a fire, burning everything around it. The innocent data-collector's notebook wittered and in a sudden gust of wind, blew away. A cap was hit by the lightning from the storm, as it passed by yet another victim. Then, the time stood still, just when the cloud did in front of an innocent princess.

_Clack!_

"H-here-" You said through gritted teeth, nearly hissing at him and having trouble only saying the words. "I b-baked some c-c-cake for you."

Your eye twitched, as he only stared puzzled at you. Then he turned his attention towards the pie on the table in front of him. You waited for a response, but when you finally did get one, you rather wanted _not _to hear it. "Thanks, but I'm not that fond of apples."

"E-" You stared. "E-e-" How could that possible have happened? "E-e-" He looked up at you and _smiled_. "EEEEHHHHHHHH?!" Snatching the plate away from his desk once again, you disappeared out of the room in – this time – a cloud of dust.

And that was leaving back the three guys. "What was that about?" Yukimura chuckled.

Yet he didn't receive an answer …

Sanada looked at his now soothing and dead cap.

Renji was quickly trying to restore all the lost data, putting pages back together, one by one.

The rest of his classmates were already buried on the graveyard.

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

Slipping back into your seat, a gloomy aura filled the classroom. Riku raised an eyebrow and watching you and the pie for a couple of minutes, completely silent. But feeling rather restless, she finally spoke up, bursting the bubble. "So? What went wrong?"

Your head slowly turned towards her, screeching on the way. "What makes you think something went wrong?" You asked menacing.

She chuckled. "Just a feeling …"

_She reminds me off him … freaky! _But then you smacked your head onto the table, giving up completely. "He weren't _that fond of apples_." You muttered, grinding your teeth.

"Oh, that's right!" Riku exclaimed, now laughing nervously. "Forgot to mention that …"

There was a huge risk your eye would pop out with all that twitching. "You … you _forgot _to mention it, or you did it on purpose?"

"…" _Silence …_

"Ah …"

Suddenly Riku smirked, itching closer to your ear. "What about … giving it to _her_?"

"WHAT?!"

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

Normal POV

"Miku-chan, someone's here to see you?" She turned her head from a rather heated conversation with the vice-captain (well, her pretty much yelling at the other, while the vice-captain stuttered and tried running away), her eyes falling upon a rather fidgeting freshman, crushing between senior girls, all _aw!'_ing her. Nadjai's eye twitched (as usual), when someone pulled her cheek.

"Look at that cute face! Aw! I want to keep her!"

Miku wondered if she should perhaps warn them? That the little, _cute _girl actually had rabies? Oh well, she stretched, they'd figure it out themselves … in time. "Shouldn't you-?" Iwasaki, Sata, the small vice-captain of the girls' tennis club, asked her captain, watching concerned the youngest of the regulars, as the girl became more and more annoyed.

"Huh?" Miku looked at her. "You think?"

"Well, unless you'd like body-parts all over, then yes."

"Perhaps I should …" But before she had gotten further than standing up, it was too late. The volcano had burst out into flames, spitting out lava everywhere.

"I'M NOT SOME LITTLE KID YOU CAN PLAY WITH, YOU _FREAKS_!"

Ah yes, there was always something entertaining going on, when she was around. This time it was a short girl attacking students with a baseball bat, steam coming from her ears and fire from her mouth. Next to Miku, the fukubuchou sighed, wanting to butt in, but then decided to rather stay alive. "Miku-chan …" She whined, wanting the more powerful and _devilish _to do it for her. "You're the captain!"

Sighing loudly, Miku then got up and walked over. Dodging a bat coming her way, she clapped her hands together, earning the freshman's attention. Two bright, green eyes looked up at her, yet tinted with just a little red. "Calm down, Lumpy, no killing in school – haven't the principal told you already?"

She blinked a couple of times, but then she suddenly pressed a thing into the taller girl's head. Crossing her eyes, focusing on the _think _on the plate, Miku wondered, what the heck was going on. Since when did she get presents from Nadjai? "What … is it?"

"…" At first it was only answered with silence, as Nadjai secretly pondered if she was just stupid, blind or doing it on purpose. "It seems to be a pie, doesn't it?" She then asked, waiting for her sempai to take it from her.

"Ah … Thanks, but-"

"…"

"It's quite unhealthy you know."

"…"

"Sorry, but thank you though!"

But even though she knew the girl would break down and cry, she still weren't able to help her at all, as she was gone before then. "WAHHHHHHHH!"

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

"R-Riku!" She wailed out, once again entering the classroom, only to _still _find her friend eating her bento – how long was that lunch break anyways?! With a sigh, the before-mentioned looked up at her, raising an eyebrow, when she noticed the cake.

"What? She didn't want it either?" She asked, stopping the chopsticks into her mouth, only to find them empty. She glanced down to the small box on the table to find it just the same. Her stomach growled.

"N-no! She said it was unhealthy!"

"Ah …" She smiled, reaching out. "You can always give it to me!"

"No way!" She said, holding it away from the other. "I'll try Strawberry-kun! There's no way he'll say no!"

And so, she stomped off once again; trying to see if anyone wanted some cake.

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

"Oi!" The door slammed open, making the occupants of year 1, class 2 wince and cover in fear. Nadjai scanned the room, trying to find a familiar face – and _Mission Completed_. Poor, poor Jackal was the one sitting closest to her, and she quickly – happily – jumped over to him. "Ah, Jackal-kun, have you seen Strawberry-kun?"

At first Jacket was silent, hoping she'd just miraculously enough fade away. But … did she really do that? Not one bit. She only impatient tipped back and forth on her feet. "Hello?"

"Sorry, but he had to go to the nurse's office."

"Eh?" She stared.

"He got food poisoning or something like that."

Her eye twitched. _Of course! _"How did that happen-? No, wait, don't tell me. The Trickster, right?"

"Yes."  
"What did he do?"

"Gave him something, telling it was bubblegum, but it wasn't. But Marui-kun swallowed it and turned green right away."

"What did he eat?"

"… You don't want to know …"

"Ah …"

She turned around and was about to walk away again, but paused. Slowly turning back towards the other freshman, she held out the cake. "Would you like a piece?" Hoping for the best, yet still not having the greatest expectations, she waited for his answer.

"Sorry-"

"Don't worry, I'm used to it …"

And so, she walked out once again, her last hope shattered across the planet.

"Thank you, damn Spiky-kun!" She muttered.

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

_Clack!_

"You win."

"Huh?" Riku stared at the cake in front of her, on the table. Unable to believe it, she glanced upwards onto her friend. A friend who seemed to think: _What's the point in living any more? _"S-seriously?!" She asked surprised.

"Yes … no one else wants it."

"I- I can have it?!"

"JUST EAT IT BEFORE I SNAP COMPLETELY!" She yelled, plopping down into the chair, just as the bell rang. Nadjai sighed, slamming her head against the desk – it didn't matter any longer.

Riku smirked. Just as planned.

Then she found out a fork from a pocket and dug in. Just from the beginning, she knew she'd get it in the end.

_Thank you, Master Trickster …. For your help. _She thought.

Just then a white-haired boy passed by on the other side, looking in through the door and grinning evilly. Mission Complete.

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

Actually, I had never expected it to be this long (only precisely 3000 words), but that is STILL a lot! Somehow, the _cake incident _turned out to a bigger deal than I had thought. It should only have been a single page in Word – maybe two. I had another idea for this called 'Rules', but I guess I'll just make part 17 into that one, no?

Anyways, Reviews are highly appreciated! :)


	17. Rules

Once again, here are the thanks!

Thanks to:

Xandochu, pontaalover, Rikkaifan, Flarire :) Danke Schon! - That's German XD

And also, there're two entire new mates out there, who've reviewed! **DarksAngeloftheNight**, **VixentheHelraizer**. Thank you for deciding to read my story too! :)

To **Xandochu**: Well, we do have _some _Internet at school, but not in class, since we only need them to take notes and so on. And if we _did_ have Internet, we wouldn't do that, rather play games or something. So … only in the library – but that's only for school work -.-. An entire YEAR for one update?! I've mostly waited half a year and I nearly died. --thumps up-- well done! Oh, and here's the next chap!

To **pontaalover**: I'm really glad you like it and even happier that you review! Prepare to get glomped! --Glomp--!

To **Rikkaifan**: Yup, yup, once again thanks! I think it's sad for her too! --Snickers-- or not … But, it might not be the last time I'm being evil! --evil chuckle--

To **Flarire**: Well, I didn't see it coming either! I normally don't think that far … So, when I had to end the part, I just thought … _what could be the best way to torment her_? And then there was this holy light and I thought NIOU! Or something like that … (without the holy light and … yeah …) And: YAY COOKIES! :)

To **DarkAngeloftheNight**: Don't worry, here's the next part! :)

To **VixentheHelraizer**: Thanks for answering my questions! I hope nobody gets confused if I write purple hair? O.o And I actually think I've read that story … --tick tack-- Yeah … And I might have it in favourite stories too! But, I can't remember how he acted, so, I'll go read it again perhaps when I got time! And Niou only does it when it benefits himself? Got ya! --nod nod-- Thank you for your help! I'll remember it and fix it, if I stumble across it sometime!

This part is dedicated to ya all!

This might not be one of the longer chapters either, but you'd never know … since I always start with saying this and then in the end of the chapter; I confess it was pretty long and around the 3000 words, etc. etc. XD

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

17 – Rules

Your POV

"Goooooood! MORNING!" _Someone _yelled into your ear, which (of course) made your eye twitch in annoyance. Quickly clapping your hands over them, trying suppress the high-pitched sound that only your best friend could make - without her tongue running away screaming (if that actually _could _happen).

"Have you ever heard of a _normal _greeting?"

That was only answered by silence.

_And why again does people call ME stupid?! _You thought, rolling your eyes and finally looking at her. She had slumped down in the chair next to you, rustling through her backpack. You yawned, having been woken up pretty early that morning by … _her_.

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

The sound of a doorbell rang through the house, yet you heard not a single thing, as your head was buried down into the fluffy pillows in the bed. But your mother had heard it completely clearly from the kitchen and quickly scurried out to open the door for whoever it was.

"Hello?" She asked, sticking her head through a small gap between the frame and the door, but then she opened it fully. It was someone, whom she knew. "Ah, Miku-chan, what are you doing here in the middle of the morning?" She asked, walking back, letting the girl inside.

"Ah …" The other said slowly. "I've noticed your daughter growing some lately - and not the right way I might add."

Your mother raised her eyebrow. "Are you saying she's fat?"

"Well …"

"Don't mind! Don't mind!" She laughed, happily clapping the other's back. "I've noticed too! But, it's weird, since we don't eat that much unhealthy!" She trailed off, her eyes glancing back into the kitchen where … well, a rather large pile of old wrappings from candy, ice-cream, chips and so on lay. Quickly she used a foot to shut the door, laughing nervously.

"So!" Miku continued, ignoring the kitchen, which she had easily been able to look into before your mother had closed the door. "I'm going to take a morning-run with her. If that is fine, of course?"

"Enjoy." Your mother only said, walking down the hall to wake you up. "Ah-" She looked back at the girl, motioning around. "Please, make yourself comfortable and … err, ignore whatever you might hear."

Miku's POV

You at first looked around for something to sit down on, your eyes falling upon a small puff, placed against the wall. But afterwards, sitting and looking around into the hallway, on the pictures of Nadjai and her family, events and … _someone being strangled by a teddy-bear? _… it suddenly gipped in you. A loud yelp had been heard from a room further down the hall. You raised an eyebrow, as it was followed by curses, yells, curses and the sound of something breaking.

"That was a really expensive vase you know!" Nadjai's mother yelled through the house, but her yells were overheard, as a door slammed open with a bang, when it hit the wall. Out came a rather scared freshman, trying to finish closing her buttons in her school-uniform, bag over her shoulders and her mother right behind her - armed with a lamp.

"Please, open the door!" She yelled, running down the hall towards you. Your eyebrow nowhere in sight, you grabbed the door handle and opened the door quickly. She slipped by you, grabbing a pair of shoes on the way. You looked after her, but then turned your attention towards the older woman, who stopped up and looked after her too.

"There you go." She said, earning your questioning look. "I told her you were here to get her, but she rather wanted to sleep." She grinned broadly. "Guess I made her run!"

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

Your POV

But returning to the main story, you blinked a couple of times, trying to shake the flashback out of your head. When you looked around, you noticed all the students having arrived, _along _with the teacher. _And _that the class had already started.

You looked at the watch over the door, eye twitching by then. You had stared into space for over an hour?! And no one had cared to tell you?! You glanced at your now grinning broadly friend, who tried keeping herself from bursting out laughing, sticking a hand into her mouth. You scowled, rolling your eyes and turning your attention to the lesson … only to find it to be English. _Ah … I'm doomed._

"Ah!" The teacher said. "Fujiko-chan, you've finally decided to join our discussion?" He asked you, making _every _head turn towards you, all smirking. You glanced around; hoping someone else might have the same last-name as you, but … too bad. "Then, why don't you give us your opinion of the former Apartheid in South Africa?" _Of course _he had to ask all of it in the language- the one, the only, _English_.

You stared at him, blinking confused. "Eh?"

"…"

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

"You know, Nadjai-"

"-_Jai_-" You corrected as always, since nobody apparently understood you preferred being called that. Either you were called Nadjai or Lumpy … seriously, either they were stupid or ignoring you completely! Or both?

"Whatever." Riku said, smiling, while rustling through her bag and finding out a new racket. "But, just wanted to ask if you wanted to hit some balls, before the sempais arrive?"

You shrugged, picking up your own racket too and walking for one of the courts. To your utmost shock, you and your friend had arrived way earlier than everyone and found the courts empty. That had been the first time ever; that you had been in time - _before _even! But enough of that, you thought, watching as Riku readied herself to serve.

You were looking forward to see how good, she had become by then. You had been unable to play her lately, as _someone _had made you busy running _laps_. I wonder who … But before you had a chance to think about it any more, the ball hit the ground in front of you, making you snap back into reality. Barely making it, you slung your racket, the impact sending the ball back towards Riku. "Ah, not bad." You told her, smirking.

The match continued for a couple of more minutes (pretty much 15), but in the end you got bored and quickly ended it. The score was 6-0, but that had been predicted way earlier. Riku smacked your behind, as you both walked off the court, making your eye twitch. "Why did you do that?!" You snapped at her.

She merely shrugged. "That's my way to say gratz."

"Ah …"

"You know …" The girl next to you said slowly, looking around before glancing down onto her wristwatch. "They're late." She then stated. You blinked a couple of times and then noticed it too. It was already ten minutes since they were supposed to meet, yet not even a single person had shown up. The two of you glanced at each other. "You think something's wrong?" Riku asked concerned.

"What do you mean?"

"They might have gotten killed or something."

You raised an eyebrow. "That's a little bit too much, don't you think? Anyways," you grinned. "I wouldn't mind that." You slumped down onto one of the benches next to your bag, which you pulled closer to you. You found out a bottle of water and slowly, absentminded twirled off the cap. "Don't fret, they'll be here any sec." You told her, rolling your eyes.

But still … Riku panicked.

"W-what if they've b-been m-m-murdered!"

Once again placing the bottle next to you, you chuckled lowly. "Well … there might be a few people, who'd like to do that - including me - but still, not in school! And we would probably have heard of it, don't you think?"

Riku paused, turning towards you. "Y-you think?"

"Surely." _Not … _You grinned when she had turned the other way. Slowly stretching, you enjoyed the silence of not having a senior yelling at you 24/7. But Riku was still a little shaken up - that girl had issues on the top floor, that's for sure.

"B-but!"

_She's STILL at it?! _You thought annoyed, turning your attention back to her. "_What_?!"

"The boys aren't here either!" She pointed out. This made your brow scurry a little further up. That was of course true too … Perhaps it was getting a little freaky now?

"Ah …" You said slowly, standing up. You glanced around, suspecting the captain would jump out any second, screaming sur-

"SURPRISE!"

_Oh … I'm good …!_

The captain _had _popped out in front of Riku, and the last-mentioned had _freaked out _and screamed, but after that … she had totally disappeared from the courts. Chuckling, Miku turned towards you, smirking as usual. "Shocked?" She asked.

You only stared. "Do I look like it?"

"Aw …" Joruni come up from behind, putting her arms around your neck in a hug. "We wanted to mess a little with the two of you."

"…" At first you stayed silent, but the more of the members, that turned up, the more puzzled you got. "And so you actually made _everyone _skip practice?" You looked at the captain, your eyebrow being the first of its kind in space by that time. "Didn't know you had it in you."

"…" The captain thought about it, but then she started muttering to herself. "… Mental note: 200 laps for everyone …"

Joruni smacked your head. "Way to go. Pointing it out!"

"… Oh …"

"Yeah, _oh!_"

"… Right …" But then you turned your attention back to the captain. "And to think you even got the boys to do it too."

Both stared at you. "What do you mean?"

"What? Err … You _have _noticed, that they haven't turned out too, right?"

"…"

"You haven't?"

"…"

"You- … It wasn't part of the plan?"

"…"

"No?"

"…"

"Then … Where are they?"

"…"

Your eye twitched. Something was wrong …

"WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!" Apparently, Riku had returned - though only to panic once again, making everyone else do the same too. "DIE; I TELL YOU!"

_What the heck am I doing here?! Everyone's a freak!_

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

Well … even though Riku had predicted the end of the world, nothing had happened. At first, everyone had been a little freaked out, as no one knew where the boys had gone off too. It didn't help with a girl, talking about doom, destruction and pink bunnies armed with AK-47's … no? You only leaned against the fence, listening in on the conversation, though without coming with any inputs yourself.

But, it had turned out, that the male captain, Zen, had _asked _everyone to meet in one of the larger classrooms for a meeting; and so no one had turned up to practice that day. Which meant; no one had been murdered. Shaking your head, you watched as the captain tried calming down everyone, but failed miserably.

_So much for practicing … _You though, but even though your mind was depressed, a smile was partying on your lips. _Which of course is only good! _In the end, the jolly old captain finally snapped (something you had predicted long ago), making all the freaked out people run fifty laps. Lucky you, you hadn't freaked out, so you just stood there, watching from the side-lines.

Chuckling, as someone tripped and everyone else behind her came on-top of the pile, then the captain walking over, making all come up in the blink of an eye, and then Miku yelling at them to move faster. Ah, how lovely to only be watching! Now you knew; why people always laughed when you were running …

But then the sound of someone approaching made you look up and around. First it was an annoyed voice, that told them all to act more proper, then it was someone rambling about bubblegum and then, in the end, someone who only chuckled. _I wonder … _You slowly turned your eyes towards the male freshmen players, who were all making their way past the girls' courts towards their own. Yet, when they noticed you, they all came to a halt.

"This looks interesting." Yukimura _chuckled_ (as usual?). "It's not often you'll see the girls running, yet not Nadjai-chan."

You smiled sweetly at him, even though in your mind, you were pretty much stabbing him with the nearest pencil. "Very funny." You laughed drily. "For your information, it's because I haven't done anything wrong!"

"… Don't you normally run even though you haven't done anything?" Bunta asked, blowing a bubble in your face. Your eye twitched.

"Well … _Yes_. But this time, _they _have done something, so I can't be punished! Normally I get punished for nothing!"

"That doesn't make sense."

"… So?" You raised an eyebrow; noticing the runners passing by again, fear glowing out of their eyes, since … well …

"**Run! You mere humans, when I tell you to RUN, you freaking RUN!**"

"Aha …" But then you turned your attention back to the boys. "By the way, I thought you didn't have any practice today?"

"That isn't true …" Bunta pouted, blowing a bubble afterwards. "It seems we had a meeting and _then _practice. Not only a meeting." And true enough, just as the Strawberry explained it all to you, the rest of their team-members popped up, one by one. Also the rest of your freshmen-buddies turned up, and soon they all stood there!

Sanada tried ignoring you completely, even though you hugged his arm lovingly.

Yukimura chuckled by the previous-mentioned's attempt to shake you off.

Strawberry-kun _also _ignored you, as you continued asking if he got any spare bubblegum.

Jackal- well, he was still wondering what he was doing with the lunatics …

Renji was going _Ii Data _as usual.

Niou was … he was nowhere in sight.

You noticed the lack of spiky-eye-poking-hair and so you got a little worried. Not for _his _safety, but for your own. You needed to keep an eye on him of ALL times, else you'd never know when a piano would fall from a quite clear sky. "Err, where's Spiky-kun?" You asked slowly, glancing around.

"He said he'd skip practice today-"

_What a wise man indeed …_

"-But he'll be here sooner or later."

"Eh?" You blinked puzzled. "Why?"

"The captain went looking for him …"

"Oh …"

_The world will soon be a wise man less …_

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

Normal POV

And right enough, the trickster had been found in the end and _willingly _came with the captain to the courts. Here, after having been forced to do a gazillion laps, he stopped up next to Nadjai and the freshmen-group. Somehow, she had an idea the captain should let the girls do laps more often, since when they did … there was no practice for her. Nadjai had been standing, doing nothing, for almost an hour now?!

Of course, too bad for the victims; but - as Joruni had said once - _one for all and all for one!_ Someone had to sacrifice themselves for the good of … HER! She chuckled. _Payback ..._

"Was it fun?" She asked the white-haired boy, as he (out of breath) stopped up next to her. The only thing she received for that? A warm smile and- _Smack! _She had no idea where he had gotten the racket from, but sure enough, it was real. That was something she experienced on her own skull. "Hey! What was that for?!" She snapped.

"Perhaps I should fake a cold or something?" He said slowly, coughing a single time. "I think I'm starting to turn ill …"

At first her eyebrow only scurried up, but then it was her turn to smack him one. "I-di-ot! That ain't the real cough!"

He stared. "Oh? So, there're actually _rules _for something as simple as COUGHING?!"

She nodded happily, feeling like _the _teacher! "Yes, of course!"

"… How lame …"

"No, not at all! Let me explain!

1 cough - means that you are just clearing your throat, or want to say something

2 coughs - means that you're just trying to get pity from others

3 coughs - means that you might be a little ill, but only _a little_

4 coughs - means that you are _not _faking it, but seriously might be ill. Everything under is fake or what I've mentioned

5 coughs - means that you seriously need to get a warm cup of tea and stay in bed for a month

6 coughs - means that I'd probably sent you off to a hospital right away

7 coughs - means that your lungs are on their way up

8 coughs - means that … well, you'd probably be dead by then …"

She finished off the rules, making _everyone _stare at her. Well, Renji scribbled them all down for later references.

"… _What_?"

"What, what?" She asked, not understanding why they were looking at her, as if she was a freak - or had the heads of the captains on each side of her own. "I really hate when people stare …" She muttered, but then returned to topic. "It really is true! I've tried all of it on my old teachers! There were times they fell for it, others they didn't!" She pointed towards herself. "Trust the champion in skipping classes!"

"Aha …"

"So … If I had to try and skip practice, I'd have to … cough 4-5 times?"

"For the best effect, do five. But, if you don't _look _ill too, only do four - then it's something with the neck."

"Any other good advice?"

"Try get some slime up too, now you're at it."

"That was too much information …"

"You asked."

"…"

"…"

It was all followed by a few minutes of silence. The only thing that was heard, was the sound of Reji's pen, moving over the papers in his notebook; tennis balls being hit from the boys' courts; the huffing from the soon-to-be exhausted girls; and Nadjai, tipping up and down on her shoes.

"If you found a Dark Arts book and managed to summon the Devil, and he told you had a single wish, which he'd make come true, what would your wish be?" She suddenly asked, breaking the silence.

Well, of course, her question was only answered _with _silence.

"…"

"Hello?"

"All the data in the world, without having it all in notes." Apparently, Renji was the first to break the silence with an answer. Nadjai nodded slowly, but then …

"Tsk, tsk …" She shook a finger at him. "That won't do! Of course the Devil would try and make your wish into a bad one! By wishing all the data in the world, he'd stuck it into your head, which makes your brain that big you won't be able to walk around with it!"

"…" Renji decided to join the rest of the gang.

"World Peace?" This time it was the princess, who chuckling came with an offer.

But, his response was too: "Tsk, tsk! You guys never learn!"

"I don't see a problem." Yukimura smiled at her.

"Well …" She paused. "It is of course true, that it would be hard for him to actually make it so, that it would harm you … But, I have a feeling he would rather smite you than fulfil your wish."

"And why would that be?"

"Isn't he the main villain? World Peace is like … a flowers and bunny-clad world - I don't think he'd like that! It would be like God was the person behind Teletubbies!"

"Teletubbies aren't bad." Bunta argued.

"Teletubbies brainwash children into watching more TV …" She stated, having discarded Yukimura's idea too apparently.

"…" And so he went back to only _smiling_.

"A never-ending pile of candy." Bunta said, mouth watering as he spoke.

But this dream of his was easily shot down. "No can do."

"Eh?! Why not?!" He wailed out. "I know he'd try and make me fat, but I'd train so it wouldn't work! And I'll go to the dentist every day too!"

"Before he'd be able to do anything …" She muttered. "I'd have stolen and eaten it all by then."

"…" Poor Strawberry's dream had been scattered across the Earth.

"Fine, what would _you _choose then?!" Niou asked, now sending it all back at her. Yet Nadjai only smiled; as if they'd trick her.

"Well …" She started out, stroking her chin. "I'd probably annoy him so much, that he'd rather flee than try and mess with me. So! I'd wish for another million wishes! And then continue wishing again and again and again! And especially annoying wishes, such as … I wish my captain was stuck to you! Or something like that … if it was me, I'd jump off a cliff after five minutes!" She smirked. "But if I couldn't do that …" She shrugged. "I'd just ask him to get the stain of my favourite blue summer-dress."

"…" They stared.

The Devil cleaning a dress? Well, that's worth seeing!

But before she was able to continue this … interesting story, once again a shadow fell over her. It was either the Devil, having heard their conversation and decided to _smite _them all, or it was a she-devil, wanting to kill off an innocent freshman girl.

"You know what I'd wish?" The low - dangerously low - voice asked.

Nadjai gulped. "I have an idea …"

"**I would certainly wish that _someone _would return to practice, right NOW!**"

"Yes sir!"

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

Time for IHRHC! Well … I'm really sorry if some of you might have found this chapter … boring and whatnot. But the problem is, that I really wanted it to be called 'Rules and Cats', but before I knew off it, 'Rules' took ten pages in Word. So … I didn't have enough space to fit in the cats too. Therefore, they'll come up in the next chapter!

But seriously, wasn't it boring? O.o

Once again, even though I said it wouldn't be as long as the other, this is pretty much _the _longest so far. -.- Without counting Review Answers and IHRHC it's: 3600 words! 4186 with.

Anyways, if you thought it as boring or there was something you liked, please tell me! You know what to do! The button right down there, left corner. Just … GO!

Please review! :)

Oh yeah, I think I need some appreciating for this:

After having uploaded this into documents, I've changed _all _these:

" into "

and

' into '

Just because I think it looks better - and easier to read perhaps too? Anyone noticed?

Anyways! Review, review! :) Make my day, please!


	18. Cats, not the Musical

Author

Once again, here're the responses for the reviews. Thank you to VixentheHellraizer, Rikkaifan, pontaalover, Flarire, DarksAngeloftheNight - also two new ones! - **Hinataluv** and **meeghuanne009**. Thank you all for having reviewed, you're the best of the best!

I'm glad you all like to read my story and doesn't find it boring - even though I sometimes do myself -.- But I trust you, when you say it aint! Then I have the will to continue XD

There's not much to say, except: I hope you'll enjoy this part too - oh, and I wouldn't mind if you tried checking out my newest two stories (My Dream Prince and Seven Years Later), since I'm not sure if I want to continue. By now though, I think I'll do MDP, but SYL am I not so sure about … since I've received no reviews etc. But, please? Thank you :)

Now, enough of me talking, let the story commence!

Oh yeah, if I haven't written your name in the 'thank you for the reviews' sorry! I might not have seen you!

This part might not be _that _long, but we'll see!

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

18 - Cats, not the Musical

Your POV

You sighed out loud, slamming your head against the wall, falling asleep right away. Being forced to do an uncountable amount of laps, all your energy had been drained from your body. Riku only raised an eyebrow, walking past you towards her shelve in the girls' dressing room. Along with her were some of the other freshmen-girls, all happily chatting about the H O T boys on the courts nearby. Most of them were all part of someone's fan-club. Somehow, Riku had found herself being quite the _popular_ girl, as most of them were swooning over her cousin. So once again, she found herself surrounded by fan-girls, wanting to know EVERYTHING.

"What's his phone-number?"

"What's his birthday?"

"What shampoo does he use?"

"Does he have a girlfriend?!"

Everything fell silent. Someone had had enough courage to ask the _dreaded_ question, and now all were staring at Riku, anticipating an answer. She only stared back. "If … he have a girlfriend?" She repeated slowly. Without her knowing and wanting to, she glanced towards you - still sleeping against the wall, happily unknowing that your death-sentence had just been signed.

But when glares; powerful enough to blow up the Earth, was directed towards you, you flinched in your sleep. Slowly your eyes opened, you turned around and looked at them all. Riku was looking rather guilty, trying to not set her eyes on you, but everything _else_ in the room. But you weren't really looking at her, rather puzzled wondering why, all the girls seemed to suppress the urge to kill you. "So …" You started off slowly, eye twitching. "What have I done wrong this time?"

As if hearing the voice of their worst enemy, they snapped out of their trance-like stance, having thought over the fact; that Yukimura actually liked a _freak_. Now the power of their glares had worsened yet again, now probably being able to destroy the entire solar-system. "Y-you're dating Yukimura-sama?!"

"…?"

_Now_ you were staring at Riku. "What the heck have you been telling them?!" You snapped at her. Riku; only looking really, really sorry on you, grimacing. But then, as a good idea would probably be, to calm down the angry mob, you turned your attention towards the girls. "Err, I'm not going out with him or anything. We're just friends … or, perhaps not even that! We're just acquaintances." But did they listen?

"GET HER!"

"EH?!"

Riku did nothing but watching you, getting attacked, tied up and dragged with them to some place, where they'd probably torture you to death. "Sorry?" She suggested, lowly. Yet no-one heard it, as they were already gone. The only thing, that was left to be heard, was your screams of mercy.

"I think I made a mistake?"

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

Shaking uncontrollable, the nerve by your eye long gone (making it unable to even twitch) and muttering about "fan girls are scary", you had finally been released from twenty years of prison. Well, it was only for little less than an hour, as a hero had appeared. You had never been expecting to be saved by the female regulars, all dressed as people from _Mystic Force Power Rangers_. Where they had gotten the costumes from; you didn't even want to know. But none the less, they had started beating up the hissing fan-girls, making the last-mentioned flee for their lives.

_This school is seriously disturbing …_

Someone patted your head, making you nervously glance upwards. Miku was smiling at you, once again dressed in _normal _clothing. "You alright?" She asked, actually _concerned_?! Normally it was _her_, tormenting you, but when someone else did it, she was _CONCERNED_?! _Well, _you thought, _perhaps she doesn't like, when others does it …?_

"Do I look alright?" You then asked, sighing as your clothes had been ripped into shreds by _claws_. Then you sighed again. "I need to get myself a new uniform-" You turned your face towards a guilty-looking girl, walking next to you. "-And I think I know, who's going to pay for it."

Riku laughed nervously, agreeing. "I'm sorry." She muttered.

"You'd better be." Sighing once again, you forgave her. "But why do you _always_ decide I'm going out with the princess, when something like _that_ is probably getting me killed?" You threw your hands up into the air. "You just don't know when to shut up, do you?"

"Well … actually I didn't _say_ anything, I only glanced towards you. It's not my fault they jumped to conclusions."

"No, but you could have explained it, _before_ I got dragged off to God knows where!"

At first Miku only smiled; looking from one arguing person to another arguing person, but then she decided to join the fun. "Isn't life just great?!" She exclaimed, owning not one, but two hateful glares.

"WHAT THE HECK?!" Both of you exclaimed in disbelief.

"Think about it; one day you'll probably look back at this and laugh."

"Why the heck, would I be laughing at myself, getting killed?!" Sometimes people really didn't make sense - and this was one of those times. "Seriously … You people are weird."

"Look who's talking …" Riku muttered, rolling her eyes, yet shortly after, she shut herself up. You glared at her, _really_ starting to question your school. _Is this _really_ a school, or an asylum? _But then, as you started walking down the road; finally having gotten through the school-yard (a rather long walk, no?), your eyes fell on something up head. Something fluffy, in the middle of sun-bathing on the wall into school. Your eyes started gleaming in delight, now happily jumping up head of the two others. Riku and Miku both stared after you, but then they noticed the brown cat. "This is going to end up in disaster …" Riku stated, having a slight hunch you weren't a great cat-person.

Slowly you crept near it, reaching out a hand. _Silently approaching its pray, the great hunter is ready to attack … _You thought out in your mind. But then again, silently approaching a cat? Am I the only one thinking it as a bad idea? Apparently, you understood that too and so you tried getting the cat's attention. "Here kitty-kitty …" You whispered slowly, not wanting to yell at it either.

And then, making you recoil quickly, two yellow slits looked at you, as the cat awakened. But you started getting closer once again, as you now had its attention. "Hi pretty kitty-cat." You said, smiling happily. God, you really loved cats!

Too bad …

"_HISS!_"

… cats weren't that fond of you …

"OH MY GOD?!"

The two other girls only stared, as the cat jumped you, claws out and ready to sink into you. And so Riku and Miku got themselves another ten minutes of entertainment (for free), as you tried getting the cat off of you, even though it rather wanted to dig into your throat.

"GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!"

"Had you predicted this too?" Riku asked, watching as you ran into the wall, thinking it would perhaps knock out the cat. In stead it nearly knocked _you_ out.

"Ah …"

"NOT THE EYES!"

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

Satisfied with its work; the cat purred as Miku stroked it. But then it had gotten tired of _playing_ with the three girls, and waltzed off, tail high in the air. Miku smiled happily, being a _great_ cat-person. "Don't you just _love_ cats?" She asked.

"Yah …" Riku answered, poking the now freaked out you; scratched up more than earlier and probably close to a nervous breakdown. Your best friend ignored the hysterical laughter and in stead looked after the cat, disappearing down the road. "But ... Nadjai, perhaps you shouldn't get too close to cats- no, actually, _all_ animals."

"Eh?" You looked up at her, puzzled. "Why not?"

"You nearly got K.O by a cat … I just don't think you're _save_ among them."

"You're right I guess …" You muttered, licking your wounded and bleeding thump. "But I've never done anything against them, yet still they all try to kill me." Tears sprung up into your eyes. "Once … I nearly got killed by a goldfish …!"

"…"

You nodded slowly, remembering the dreadful happening, so long ago … "I was out with a friend, trying to look for a pet for her … but when we came to the shop, and down in the aquarium-area, it suddenly jumped up from the ball and … knocked me out …"

"… You were knocked out by a … goldfish …?"

"Ah …"

"…"

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

Normal POV

The door creaked open and a pair of feet appeared. "I'm home." She called out into the hall, waiting to hear a response from her mother. Yet … it was only answered by silence. Her eyebrow scurried up, while taking off her shoes and jacket. "Mom?" She once again tried getting a response, but it was the same. "Are you home?"

She made her way down the hall and into the living-room, where she normally met her mother after school. Yet she wasn't there. "Aha …" Then going for the kitchen, her ears were taking in every sound, trying to make out her mother's presence. But there was no sound of anything burning; nor blood dripping; so ... She probably weren't there. Yet in stead, she heard something else. Something being tipped over … coming from her room. Grabbing the nearest _weapon_, being an umbrella. "No one dares to break into _my_ room!" She hissed quietly, sneaking up on the door.

Then, with a hand slightly shaking, she reached out for the knob and turned open the door. What greeted her was … a world of fluff. "What the- …" Faces of nearly twenty kittens turned and looked up at you. "-heck?"

"_MEOW!_"

And then, as if a flood had been set free, they ran towards the door and _freedom_. Unlucky her, she was in the way. "Uh-oh …" Being run over; she fell to the ground, getting fur and only God knows what into her mouth. Soft paws (with a hint of claws too though) ran over her, messing up her uniform - AGAIN!

"Meow!"

"What-"

"Meow!"

"-the-"

"Meow!"

"-heck-"

"Meow!"

"-is-"

"Meow!"

"-THIS?!"

Just as she was getting attacked by cats _again_, the door opened up, and a whistling mother, arms full of cat-food, entered. "Meow …" A small, black kitten looked up at her, welcoming her home.

"Oh, how did you get out?" She asked, bending down towards it. Then her eyes fell on a pair of shoes, belonging to her daughter. "Ah …" Just then she heard it …

"MOM! WHAT THE HECK IS THIS?!"

She picked up the stray-kitten and walked down the hall, being able to make out the body of a girl, lying across the floor. "I should perhaps have told you, to not open the door …?"

"_Really_?!" She snapped, trying to push of the kittens, all standing on top and around her. Apparently, she had been crowned Ruler of the Cats. "They think I'm their mother or something!" She exclaimed, bolting up right away, as one of them licked her ear. "And why again, was there twenty kittens in my room?!"

Her mother laughed nervously. "I was out shopping and then when I got home, there stood this box. I took it in, and when I opened it, they just jumped out."

Nadjai's face dropped. "Who … on Earth puts a box with twenty cats in it at some random door …?"

"Well …"

"Why are they still here? Why didn't you take them to a kennel?"

"I couldn't just leave them!"

"We could …" She stroked one of them. "Eat them of course …"

"… Are you insane?"

"Yes …"

"…"

"…"

"Meow?"

"Shut up."

"But really!" She found one of them stuck into her face. "How can you _not_ like them? Look at them! That fluffy fur! Those big, adorable eyes! That sweet meowing! Doesn't it make you want to hug them?!"

"No."

"Aw, why not?"

"Because …"

"But-"

"NO! AND FREAKING STOP LICKING ME YOU CREEPS!"

"Meow?"

"NO! DON'T YOU DARE MEOW ME!"

"Hun, try and control your temper …"

"NO! AND I TOLD YOU TO STOP LICKING ME!"

"But-"

"DON'T YOU START TOO MOM!"

_This is way too weird …!_

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

Author

Alright, weren't that long - only 2300 words or so. I just didn't have much time to write it, and so … I had a lot of ideas for her to get attacked by cats, but I just got a little bored writing it, so I ended it with this. Hope it's okay and that you guys liked it!

Review please!

:)


	19. Cats, STILL not the Musical

Author:

Once again, I'd like to thank the people, who have reviewed! Not that many did it for the last chapter, but I didn't expect that either ... since I, myself, thought it as pretty boring. But, thank you Rikkaifan, Xandochu and meeghuanne009. **Thank you!**

THIS IS GOING TO BE A **REALLY** SHORT CHAPTER - I swear :)

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

18 - Cats, STILL not the Musical

Normal POV

Riku starred at the other girl, who was in the middle of pointing on a picture, across the table. She raised an eyebrow, wondering about what the heck was going on. "Err, Nadjai-chan … why are you …"

"Then there's

Fluffy

Muffy

Duffy

Nuffy

Tuffy

Felix-"

"What the- …"

"-Sheila

Shiba

Shila

Nila

Tila

Miku - I didn't like it, so I named it after the captain-"

Riku cracked up.

"Riku - she annoys me-"

"Oi!"

"-GenGen-"

"_Gen-chan_?"

"Yup!

SeiSei

BunBun

RenRen

BakaNiou

Jack-"

Riku sighed. "What an imagination you got there … You had problems coming up with names; didn't you?" She picked up the picture from the other girl, studying it. "And why again are you naming cats?"

It was this time Nadjai's turn to sigh. "Someone dropped them off by my house, so now I'm gonna try and see, if anyone wants a pet!" She pointed towards the blonde-haired girl. "Starting with you!"

"… I'm allergic."

"Darn …" The unlucky cat-owner pulled out a list and scratched over a name. "Riku is a no-no. Too bad, I think you'd be _real _happy with Riku!"

The named raised her eyebrow and directed her attention back towards the picture. "Which am I?"

"Uh …" Nadjai said slowly, waving her hand, as she was unable to make out the difference. _Forgot the names already … _"The one in the middle of licking an ear."

"… Ear …?"

"Yaa …" She chuckled nervously. "I'm somewhere _below_ the pile …"

"... A-anyways, didn't you only name nineteen of them?"

"EH?! I did?" Quickly she snatched the picture back, counting them all, one by one, while muttering the names. "… I did …" She tapped a finger on top of a pitch black kitten that was sitting 'on top' of the others, as if a king (or queen?). "That will be _JAI_!"

"… Why?"

"Can't you see how it rules over all the others?!"

"… Don't you normally get killed by _all the others_?!"

"…"

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

Your POV

"In stead of _aw'_ing at some _bloody_ picture, would you people- **MIND GETTING TO PRACTICE ALREADY?!**" You lowered your head, just a little bit, sighing as usual. _I wonder who …?_ You mused in your head, but still … it might not be a good idea to ignore the captain. And so you turned.

"Ah!" You gave her a toothy grin. "How lovely to see you, Buchou!"

By then … Miku knew something was up … "What …?" Her eyes narrowed suspiciously, as she looked down upon you. You only continued smiling at her, that sweet, innocent smile - that told everyone; I want something, which _you_ can give me. Impatient waiting for an answer, but only got that annoying, bright smile, her eye started twitching. "What do you want?"

You gaped at her, looking insulted. "I don't _want_ anything from you!" You said, clapping a hand over your mouth. "How can you say that?!"

"Here she goes, going bitchy again …"

"OI!" Miku got even _more_ annoyed (if possible?), as you now entered a staring competition with Riku, completely ignoring the captain. _The_ captain. _THE CAPTAIN! _Her, Miku Sekozawa, the most feared captain of all? The one, who one-handed could crush the entire tennis world?

The one that could …

"**If you keep ignoring me, you might as well do 200 laps!**"

… force you to run for eternity …

"Eh?" You blinked confused and stared back at her. "Oh … You're still here, I forgot!" Perhaps that wouldn't be a good idea to say? You quickly changed it. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that! Riku wasn't showing her respect towards you, so I wanted to punish her! I didn't want to ignore you - please forgive me!"

Riku and Miku exchanged looks. "… This is _so_ wrong …" Riku muttered, turning away from the horrible scene. "I'm going ill …"

Apparently, she wasn't the only one who might be a little _under the weather_, since Miku pressed her palm against your forehead. "Are you … alright? Well, as alright as someone mentally disturbed can be, that is."

You decided to stay quiet about the last part, but then you _gently_ pushed away her hand. "Of course I'm fine! Why wouldn't I?"

"… You're being nice to _the captain_, without saying a single curse-word in the sentence …" Riku whispered to you.

"Oh …?" You clapped your hands together, beaming. "Ah well! Am I really like that normally-?"

"… Yes …"

You ignored them. "-I can't believe it! Why would I be talking with disrespect to our beloved captain-?"

"… If I'm that beloved, then you wouldn't mind doing two-hundred laps in my honour, would you?"

"… O-of course … not …" You sighed. _Damn, I feel like I'__ve fallen into a trap …! _Riku cracked up laughing next to you, grabbing her stomach, as if in pain. Your eye twitched, turning towards the Devil in front of you.

"So," Miku gave you that foreboding smile, telling everyone to take cover; before the classroom got pulverized. "Why are you sucking up to me?" Pulling a chair over, she sat down in front of you, still smiling a smile, normally seen on a certain _princess._

_I'm doomed …_

"Well, since I've-" At first you were going with the sweet-talking-_around_-the-subject, but then, as she plainly stared at you, you forgot about that right way. "Look!" You stuck up the picture to her, pointing towards one of the cats, a brown cat with white stripes. "I got twenty cats at my house, but we can't have them ourselves …So, I'm trying to see, if anyone from school would perhaps want one." Once again you tapped the white-striped. "I named this after you, since … well, I just did-" Riku snickered; she knew why … "So, a Miku for a Miku, right?"

"Ah …" The not-cat Miku scratched her head slowly, smiling apologising. "Sorry, but I'm allergic to cats …"

"… Is _everyone _freaking allergic or what?!"

"You've only asked two …"

"Shut up, Riku."

"Hai, hai …"

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

"… Meow …"

You froze, in mid-air down the stairs, as you heard that certain _sound_. "Am I the only one, who heard that …?"

Riku glanced towards you, shrugging. "Didn't hear a thing."

"Ah … I see …"

But then a rather dangerous voice spoke up. "First of all … you're blocking the stairs, secondly … **You STILL got practice!**"

"H-hai!"

"Seriously … kids these days …"

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"… Meow …"

You tapped your ear, brow furrowed and looking around everywhere, searching for the sound-maker. "I think I'm starting to hear things …" You muttered, placing your tennis-bag on one of the benches, pushing off Riku's - which she had just put there.

"Oi!" She snapped, trying to push yours down instead.

"C-cut it out, you two …" The vice-captain tried butting in, but … after receiving a death-glare, backed off herself. "Or … just start practicing when you've finished this, right?" She decided to go with, quickly walking to the other end of the courts.

But not that either of you had even listened to her …

"Mine was there first!"

"So what?! I came here!"

"You can't just push others' down!"

"Yes I can!"

"No you can't!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

Riku, closing her eyes and massaging her head, sighed out loud, getting rather annoyed by then. When would this nightmare end?! "You guys …" She started off slowly, walking the opposite direction of her vice-captain; towards the two of you. But the closer she got, the more her nose began itching.

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"N-n-"

"… Err …?"

"N-n-"

"…"

"N-a-a-"

"…?"

"A-a-ahhh-"

"…?!"

"AHHHHTJU!"

Your eyes twitched, as you with a hand wiped her _salvia _off of your face. "Bless you …"

"T-thanks …" She pulled a finger over her nose, sniffing loudly. "Weird …" She then started off, after having taken care of the tears, which had sprung into her eyes. "I just felt like … there was fur nearby …"

"Oh …" You stared at your bag. "… Nah ...!"

"W-wha--ATHJU!"

With shaking hands; you reached out and closed two fingers around the zipper. Then you pulled it down, only to be greeted by … _them_. You sighed. "I knew it …!"

"Meow?"

"Meow?"

"Meow?"

"Stop staring at me like that …" You said, trying to ignore all clear, sparkling eyes, looking up at their _mother_. "I told you already, I'm not your damn mother!" Then your hearing took in some rather … strange sounds …

"-TJU!"

"AHTJU!"

"AHTJU!"

Slowly glancing backwards, you noticed not only Riku, but also the evil captain, sneezing like a couple of pepper-in-the-nose-madmen. "Oh, that's right …" You started off slowly, without knowing it, picking up one of the kittens. Then, still completely unaware of it, you started stroking it. "You're both allergic!"

The other nineteen kittens stared up at the other, jealousy and envy written in their eyes. They too wanted to be held by their mother. The lucky one purred and snuck closer to the completely unaware you … what you were unaware off? Well, that would be this …

"Meow …"

"Stop whining …" You said, looking down on them again. "Eh …?" Confused, you blinked. "Why … why are you staring at me like that?" But then as their eyes turned into slits, all _glaring _at you, you gulped down hard, knowing you had done _something_ wrong …

"Meow …"

"Oh no …"

And then, once again, you found yourself getting tackled to the ground, a sea of fur flooding over you. "Meow! Meow, mew, mew!"

"No! I'm _not_ your mother!"

"Is she … communicating with the cats …?"

"She really is their mother …"

"Nuuuuhhhh!"

The tennis team watched, as you got dragged off …

"Alright!" Miku said, clapping her hands together. "Back to practice!"

In the other end of the courts, the vice-captain sighed in relief, happy that she had decided to get _away_ from them in the beginning. Else … it'd be too strange … "Lucky …"

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

Now waving happily at the car, slowly speeding away, twenty kittens pressed against the window looking at you, you smirked. "Finally!" You felt relieved, having made your mom come _all_ the way to school to take them home. Of course you had been a little _shaking up _from their sudden attack, all wanting to have a share of their mother, but still … You couldn't stop lovi- "Hold it for a second!" You yelled out aloud. _LOVING?!_ You weren't going to say that. Uh uh! No, never! Never, never, _never_!

"NEVER!"

"Oh get over it …"

Someone grabbed your shirt.

"Eh?"

"Won't you rather return to practice, we soon got another match coming up …" Miku sighed, dragging you off towards the courts.

"Eh?" You looked up at her. "I thought you got totally destroyed in the last one."

Her eye twitched. "Of course not … even though _someone_ decided to drop out just before the match-" Somehow, was she staring at you? "We were able to survive … barely."

"Oh …"

_Damn …!_

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"**Right! You can all go home now, good work!**"

When having someone yelling at you like that, it didn't give off the impression, that you had done a _good work_. But you shrugged it off and picked up your kitten-free bag and walked for the dressing rooms. Yet, not long after you had taken a few steps, you felt a hand on your shoulder, keeping you back.

"Ah … please wait a second there, Nadjai-chan." A _honey-sweet _voice said, making shivers go up your spine. _This doesn't sound too good … _Slowly, ready to defend yourself against all evil, you turned around. Though, the only one facing you; was dear old captain Zen.

"… Didn't see that coming …" You noticed that the boy glanced nervously around, as if waiting for someone to jump him with a bazooka. _Weeellll! That _could_ actually happen. If you think about the weirdoes you'd be able to find here at school … "_W-what is it?" You asked.

"I …" He lowered his voice to a whisper, forcing you to lean closer (reluctant, I might add). "I have a favour to ask you …"

"Oh?"

"You see … This Friday … I'd like you to come and help out …"

"Why?"

"It's Miku's birthday."

"EHHHHHH?!"

Not that far away, a certain someone sneezed. Wiping her nose, she looked around. "Someone's talking about me …" Miku muttered, glaring at the nearest two, who were both talking among themselves.

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

Author:

Right, as I said in the beginning, it aint that long, now is it? I don't know why, but lately I haven't been able to write _long_ ones, but I hope that's alright! There's something I wanted to say, though I've completely forgotten it.

But! I had a late answer to one of the reviews, as I've been thinking about it. It's for: **VixentheHelraizer**

When you had answered the questions, which I asked in the first IHRHC, the 4th answer, you said this (I quote XD): _but it is a bit weird that someone whose clumsy and ditzy is suddenly a genius on the court and can do all of the others styles and moves._  
I don't really have the answer for it, but I can say this (I've been thinking about it subconsciously) ... If we take an example, I'd be pretty good! I'm a probably the only one in school, who's able to hold onto a ball without blowing up the planet, yet still I'm really, REALLY clumsy (I actually sprained the second toe from the right yesterday, as I slammed it into a sofa ... o.o) - it's just that, sometimes you have moments, where you're able to do stuff, if you really want to. But, this doesn't really answer anything, does it? So! I'll tell you this, there will be an answer in one of the later chapters (I _have_ figured it out already), but I'm not able to spoil yet!

Soooo, dunno why I just answered this, but ... somehow I just wanted to make it all clear. :)

Well, this was pretty weird, so I'll leave you now!

PLEASE REVIEW! I'll tattoo your name on me if you do! XD


	20. Preparing and Stalling

Author's Notes

Well, I noticed I've written part 18 in the last chapter - but I guess you all understand it was supposed to be 19, right? :)

Here are the thanks to Rikkaifan, Flarire, VixentheHellraizer and (a new buddy!) **kaito142**. Thank you all of you! I have a few responses to it, too!

To **Rikkaifan**: If Nadjai is the mother, who the ... father is? O.o Well, XD when I read that, I totally cracked. Scary to think about, actually! Yup, yup :( I think Mr. Inspiration doesn't like me at the moment. But you tell me! XD

To **Flarire**: Oh, you're a cat person too?! I LOVE CATS! Too bad my mom doesn't allow my to have one myself T.T - and it's okay you didn't have time to review the last time, you can always take a break! It won't kill me! O.O It killed me coming up witht the names, I tell you! Twenty! TWENTY! Well ... I guess you could have Niou XD --hands over kitten-- Take good care of him! Oh ... --finds out lasso-- I'm gonna find the _real_ Niou too for ya! XD

To **VixentheHellraizer**: You've been busy too? Oh well, it's alright! I'll survive a single chapter without review --cries-- don't worry, I'm alright! XD Really, I am! Yeah ... I'm sort of glad too, that I update - I've tried that with people, who NEVER update and you really want to know, what happens later on T.T So, I'll never be like that! --Superman pose-- I prefer him spelled Niou (I think?) ... Hm, Nadjai/Niou ... I've tried coming up with different pairings, and that might work - We'll see! :)

To **Kaito142**: Thank you for trying to read my story too! It makes me REALLY happy! :) Here's an update for you, I hope you enjoy it!

Oh yeah, this is going to be a 2-part story about the captain's birthday (so look forward to it!):

1st part: _Preparing and Stalling_

2nd part: _The Devil's Birthday_

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

20 - Preparing and Stalling

Normal POV

She stared at the senior in front of her, who was looking directly back at her. "Err …" She started off slowly, trying to understand, what he had just said. "B-birthday …?!"

"Yes."

"Y-you want _me_ to come to _hers _birthday?"

"Yes."

"Why me? _ME_!"

Zen sighed, glancing towards the other captain, who was in the middle of getting the slower people off courts. "Well, first of all, I need someone to actually come … and you're the one nearest me at the moment. Also, I need help arranging it, and somehow … I think you'd be good at stuff like that."

"Meh?" She pointed towards herself, brow furrowed. "Dunno if I'm good at it …" Yet she then shrugged. "Why not …!"

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Nadjai looked around at them all, eyebrow being sent on another mission into space. "So … you guys were _nearby_ too?" Around her sat quite a few people from the tennis clubs; the boy and girl regulars (of course except the female captain); her freshmen buddies; and Riku. They were sitting around a round table - welcome to Camelot? - with Zen standing up and looking around at them all.

"Thank you all for coming!" He started off, but quickly glared at Nadjai, as she muttered ...

"… Like we had a choice …"

"-I need help to come up with some ideas and decorations - you know, the usual. So! Please split up into two groups, and then one will be in charge of food, the other of decorations." He pointed towards the freshmen. "You'll be a group and-" He glanced towards Nadjai and Riku. "I don't think you'd be safe in a kitchen, so you'll do the decorations."

"O-oi …!"

"The rest will take care of the food and drinks."

"… Do we even have a say in this?" His vice-captain asked, looking as if he wanted to be _anywhere_ but there.

"No."

"Didn't think so either …" He sighed.

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

Your POV

"What were we supposed to do again?" Riku asked puzzled, looking as if she had only first woken up. Your eye twitched.

"Didn't you listen?"

"No."

"Ah …"

"Did you?"

"No."

The boys only waited for the two of you to figure out, what the heck was going on. Bunta plopped his bubblegum, watching you and Riku, still looking like there was no connection to the upper floor. Jackal wanted to run away, board a plane and return to Brazil, just; not this … Though, there were also some, who found this rather entertaining - want to guess who? The Princess smiled (sadisticly?) and watched you, while Niou wondered if he could do something to make it all _worse_. "Ii data …" Renji was _having fun_ too, getting good data and whatnot. Gen-chan was completely silent … if he ignored them all, perhaps they'd just pop away?

"We were supposed to do the decorations." Sanada stated in the end, getting annoyed at their continuing with arguing - by saying one word, over and over again: "No" - "No" - "No" - not much of an argument, _no_?

Both of you turned your faces towards him, making him mentally scowl - so much for ignoring them … "That's right …" You said slowly, then started beaming. "I'm thinking Balloons, flags and lots and lots of-"

"Sounds like a seven-year olds birthday."

You glared at Riku. "My mom held a birthday like that last year …" You muttered, but then you beamed and hugged Gen-chan. "Remember that, Gen-chan?!"

"…"

Well, Sanada fell into the abyss of darkness, wanting to rip out your heart, while the rest burst out laughing. Confused, you looked around, wondering why they were dying in hysterical cramps of laughter. "Eh?" Before any of them were able to retort, a shadow fell over them.

"You might not know, but there's only _one_ day until Friday." Zen said sweetly, placing a hand on the nearest shoulder - meaning yours. Your eyes widened - _I feel like the blood is being drained out … Get him off me! _You cried in your mind, glancing towards the nearest window. "Get on with it, no?" He placed some papers in front of you. "Write down ideas on this." Then he stalked off again, leaving a shaking and freaked out you, close to fainting.

"That was … freaky …" You picked up the nearest pencil and tapped it against the paper. "So! Anyone got ideas, since mine aint _good enough_. Too childish, eh?" You glared at them all, writing a single word down: _Decorations_.

"What about a theme?" Riku suggested, leaning back in her chair.

"CLOWS!" You cheered, throwing your hands into the air, happily.

"…"

"NO, NO! PONIES!" You suddenly started _crying_. "I WANT PONIES!" You slammed your hands onto the table, wailing out. "POOOOONIIIIIIEEEEESSSSSSS!"

"What about- …"

"I WANT PONIES!"

"-a pirates theme?"

"PONIES! And that's just lame." You said, looking back at Riku while wiping your eyes with a sleeve. "Tsk … pirates …" Then suddenly your eyes lit up and being surrounded by flowers and hearts. "ORLANDO BLOOM!"

"… Where did _that_ come from?"

"Pirates of the Caribbean …"

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In the end you decided to vote about it, and since no-one else had come with ideas for themes, it was a showdown between pirates and ponies. Of course … it ended; ponies: 1 - pirates: 7. _This really sucks … _You thought sadly, wanting to glue horns onto them and ride an unicorn. But then you pouted. "Fine, if we can't have ponies, I won't help!"

But of course, as soon as you had stated that …?

… _Shadow …_

"Wah! I don't want to die!" You cried out, once again a hand on your shoulder. But Zen only ruffled your hair, chuckling. Of course … was that any better?!

"I think I have something better for you to do."

"… You aren't going to dress me as a piñata, are you?"

"… No, but - good idea!" He now put his arm around _both_ your shoulders. "What I want you to do; is to buy presents and whatever we need!"

"…"

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You looked at the list in your hands, where the rest had written suggestions for gifts along with other stuff needed down. Then you checked if you had remembered the wallet, which Zen had stuck into your hand before pushing you out the door (and down the stairs - he lived in an apartment). "Alright!" You exclaimed. "I'll take it from the start!" You read the first word and dropped to the ground. _Paintball-gun from the girl regulars …?! WHAT THE HECK?! _You shivered; just thinking about what she could possible do with that. _Probably going to use it to make us run faster …_

So you looked around for a store selling paintball-guns, but apparently, there was none nearby … in _town_!

_This is going to be a loooong day …!_

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

Normal POV

Miku blew her nose after having gotten everyone's attention in the mall by sneezing loudly. "People seriously talk a lot about me lately …" She muttered, glaring at the nearest children, both staring mouth a gap on her. But then she shrugged it off and continued with her shopping.

But as she was in the middle of putting oranges into a plastic bag, she noticed a bundle of black hair passing by her. "That …" She turned her head and looked after the girl, who, rather depressed, walked around, noticing nothing, as she was too busy staring at a list. "What is she doing?" She wondered out aloud, starting to follow the other girl, leaving the fruit behind.

Nadjai was muttering about "weirdoes!", "doesn't make sense …", and "what the heck?!", while death-pan stared at the note. But then she felt it _prick_ at her neck, as if someone was watching her. "The CIA is after me again …?" She muttered, making the nearest old lady stop and stare. The girl's head turned slightly backwards, scanning the area for black-and-white dressed guys with sunglasses and watching her from pretty much _everywhere_. But there were none … except one …

But that wasn't a uniformed bodybuilder, but another girl, hiding behind a basket of cheep socks. Her eyebrow shot up, as she wondered what the heck was going on, since the captain was spying on her. Shaking it off, or rather, trying to ignore the fact that a _Devil_ was following her, she continued on her quest. "Don't mind, don't mind!" She told herself, but still … IT WAS FREAKING HER OUT!

Miku's POV

_She is up to something, I know it_. You thought slowly, sneaking after the other girl, wanting to know what she was up to. As Nadjai picked up a couple of paper-plates, studying them (what is there to study?), your brow furrowed, somehow starting to get the idea.

You were completely sure of what was going on, when the girl entered a costume shop. "They are so much preparing a birthday party for me …" You muttered, giving yourself a mental note to _destroy_ the other captain. You had stated, that you certainly did NOT want a surprise party, or actually anyone celebrating it - but had he listened? Not at all … _And he should have known better! _She thought, remembering last year's 'surprise party', which ended with the police raiding the house and you had spent the night in jail …

You sighed. "… Not again …"

Your attention got dragged back into reality, as a _pang!_ Filled the room, when Nadjai had … tripped in her shoelace; and smashed into a stand with rather expensive things. Sighing, you watched as she was being _killed _by the shopkeeper. You decided she wasn't going to get killed for a few more hours, so there was no need to watch her any longer.

In stead you walked off again, wanting to finish your shopping, get home and MURDER your _boyfriend_.

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

Your POV

You placed down the bags onto the table, sighing out loud, trying to ignore a hand in front of you. But in the end, as Zen had coughed and tried getting your attention, you looked up at him, smiling nervously. "Ah?" You glanced down onto the hand, then back up at him. "What? Do you need anything?"

"Oh, I don't know." Zen said, obviously knowing it. "Perhaps … my wallet?!"

"…"

He continued holding out his hand, yet nothing happened. "Hand it over, no?" The rest watched, as he got more and more ticked off, all guessing something would blow up the apartment within a few seconds.

"I … I might not have it any longer …" You said slowly, avoiding eye-contact.

"…"

Three …

"…"

Two …

"…"

One …

"…"

Zero …

"W-WHAT?!"

And the audience was right; it _did_ end up in a massacre.

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The next day, you found yourself, once again, in front of the apartments, where the Second in Command of the Devil's Army (a.k.a. Zen) lived. Today was Friday. Today was the big day for a certain captain. _Hurray …! _You thought in your mind, obviously NOT at all happy about it! But in the end you decided to just get it over with and entered the building. You waited for the elevator, looking around the hall, where a few other people made their way through. _Bing!_ The doors opened and you walked in. You quickly pressed the number 25 and felt it starting to move upwards. Whistling along to the music; being played.

_Bing!_

Once again, the doors opened and you walked out into the hallway, aiming for one of the seven doors. You rang the doorbell, waiting for someone to open. And when it finally did … You recoiled quickly, letting out a yelp. There stood _something_, wearing _THE_ most hideous mask ever (if it _was_ a mask, that is). "OH MY GOD?!" You pretty much screamed, ready to defend yourself from being kidnapped by a … _pirate_. But then it hit you; Pirate? "Who …?" You asked slowly, reaching out to take of the mask. You moved it upwards, showing off another (just as hideous) face, belonging to Riku. "AHHHHHHH! Disgusting! Disgusting!" You wailed out, pointing towards her face. "SSSSSCCCAAAAARRYYYYYYYY!"

Riku only stared at you, a vein pulsing dangerously near her temple. "Why _thank you_." She hissed, grabbing your shirt and dragging you in with her into the apartment. "Seriously, you're late. Everyone's here already!"

"Well, it's not my fault!" You argued, trying to pry off her hand, as she was in the middle of _strangling you_. "I'm coming, I'm coming, I don't want to die!"

And so you found yourself on a chair, with the others in the middle of decorating the room. Zen was standing on another chair, making him able to supervise it all, giving death glares if necessary (and if _not,_ too), and barking out orders. The rest was in the middle of hanging up _tings_, you weren't quite sure what exactly they were, but - who cares?! The two vice-captains were both of them putting food onto a table, making a buffet, but also trying to keep a drooling freshman away from the cakes.

Somehow, for the third time in two days, you found a hand on your shoulder and you froze. "Glad you could make it." The supervisor said, grinning broadly, which made you freak out even more.

"You're … Welcome …" You answered slowly, hesitating.

"Right." Zen scanned the area and waltzed off to boss around with Yukimura and Sanada, who were gluing flags onto the windows. "Hurry, hurry." He said, waving them on. But then he looked out the window and noticed _someone_. The captain stared. "Not … now …" He turned and faced them all, panic written all over.

You all stared at him, shivering. What could possible make a Demon cover in fear? The answer came right away … _The Demon's master: The_ Devil. "Is she … coming?" You asked.

"Yes! We got to hurry, she'll be here any minute now!" He ordered, making everyone speed up. But then he walked over to you, looking down on you. "It's all up to you."

"Eh …?" You stared, getting a feeling this was … _going to end badly …_

"You need to stall her!"

"I do _what_ now?!"

"Go down and keep her away! At least five minutes!"

"But-!"

Yet before you had any chance of arguing, you had been pushed out the door and ended in the hallway. "May God be with you!" Zen said, slamming the door.

Real reassuring, you heard the door being locked too. "Thanks for the courage …" You muttered.

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

Normal POV

Miku pushed the glass door open and entered the hall and building, where Zen lived. She had to talk to him. Had to stop him, before it all ended in the death of her regulars, whom she knew; where into it all too. She grimaces, while walking over the wooden floor. Pressing the button to call the elevator to her, she glanced around. Somehow, she had a feeling she was being watched.

_Bing!_

The doors slid open and she walked in. Yet, just when she was about to press a button, a familiar girl stood in front of her. "Ah! Buchou, what are you doing here?!" Nadjai asked (completely innocent? - as if!), keeping the doors from closing.

"What are _you_ doing here?" She retorted, even though she had a _slight_ idea.

"Oh …" The younger girl looked as if, she had ended in a tight spot. "I'm … visiting my … my …" Her eye twitched. "My Grandmother! Yes, that's it!"

"… I see …"

"But I'm going now!" She waved happily, turning to leave. "Bye! Oh- what floor are you getting off? 3? 5? 9? Perhaps 13? 16? 21?" She pressed all the buttons. "Basement?" She managed to glide out before the doors closed, and then, with a mischievous smile, waved. "See ya!"

Miku's eye twitched. "25, but _thanks_ for pressing all the buttons for me!" She said, just before she disappeared into the elevator. Standing behind, Nadjai grinned broadly, but then she ran to the other elevator, making her way up to the twenty-fifth floor before the other. She rang the door and Zen opened it.

"Did you make it?"

She nodded. "Mission completed! I stalled her in the elevator. Are we ready?"

"Yes."

She sighed in relief. "Good."

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

Yup, yup! Did you like it? Yes, no, maybe? There's one way to tell me; and you know it! REVIEW, thank you!

Oh and, it's already part 20, eh? I'm pretty fast as updating am I not? I hope you like it, because I use my time to do this for you all! But then again ... I'm _also_ doing because I want to XD

Not anything else to say, except I hope to see you all to part 21 :)


	21. The Devil's Birthday

**Review thanks!**

Thank you to Linda, Rikkaifan, Flarire, Hinataluv, Kaito142, Xandochu, VixentheHellraizer

To **Linda**: Yaaa! I do remember someone with the name Linda, but silly me -.- I've forgotten your account name. What was that again? Sorry that I haven't been on Quizilla for quite some time now - I hope you can forgive me! As I've explained before, I can write this down in school but I can't write on Quizilla as I do that over the Internet. But I'll see when I'm able to update again (I just ruined another laptop, so right now I'm borrowing my brothers - he's not home!). I hope you can survive until then! I'm glad you like my stories too! :)

To **Rikkaifan**: Phew, I'm glad _mrs. _Inspiration does - thank God! :) Hehe, else I'd be totally dead by now ... killed by hungering readers O.o

To **Flarire**: Niou! You really are a Niou-fan, aren't you? Well, I can understand why! XD

To **Hinataluv**: Haha, you think I update fast? Well, _Normally _I do, but this part is a little behind schedule, don't you think? Hm, I think the cat-part was weird too ... but then again, pretty much all of this is, ne? Ah, sorry if it's too boring sometimes, I'll try and spice things up more!

To **kaito142**: I hope you picked it up again? XD haha, I'm glad you enjoyed it! I hope you'll like this chapter too! :)

To **Xondochu**: Don't worry, don't worry! It's okay you didn't review last time - one day you just forget it! :) Oh, a new computer?! Lucky! I could use one too ... but my mom and dad won't give me once - I've destroyed three the last year, so ... I'm in a pinch at the moment! T.T

To **VizentheHellraizer**: I want to try that too! I saw it on Disney Channel (XD) and I just HAD to use it! Ah, cheap and not cheep :) Got cha! At first I had no idea there was a word called cheep - but I looked it up in the FF dictionary - and now I get it! Hah! My bad! -.- Thanks, I'll remember it from now on! And it seems that Niou/Nadjai is quite popular ... well, I really am thinking about it! So, we'll see when I finally get some lovey-dovey into it all!

Well, that was about it! I'm not going to ramble on here, so IHRHC is at the bottom! Hope you enjoy this part - here comes CHAPTER 21!

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

21 - The Devil's Birthday

Normal POV

They were all ready facing the half-way opened door, where the male captain had stuck his head through the crack, glancing out into the hallway. He was scanning the area for the _shadow_ to then prepare for the surprise.

Well, as much as a surprise I'd now get, that was, as Miku – Nadjai knew – wasn't stupid - even though she acted like that sometimes. Not one bit as completely brainless as the rest in the room, and so she had probably figured it out by their actions the days before.

"Something like that …" The freshman muttered, making the other girl next to her glance at her. Riku raised an eyebrow, wondering what thoughts that might be going through her friend's mind at that time (if any, that is). _That time_ being before they'd surprise, and probably wake the slumbering _Devil_ … Probably a plan about jumping out the window when the volcano went off.

Your POV

You sighed out aloud, starting to doubt the captain's plan very much. Even though you had only been a part of the tennis team for a little time now, you had easily understood that you could hide _nothing_ from the evil buchou. That was absolutely impossible, and therefore - this _surprise party_ - would be absolutely in vain.

But then your attention got redirected towards Zen, who had literally slammed the door shut and turned to your group, looking more than nervous. "She's coming!" He told you all, walking quickly towards you, standing in a line. "Everyone's ready?" He then asked, glancing around.

Everyone nodded, showing they had their _weapons_ ready to jump out and yell "Surprise!" or something like that … You once again sighed lowly, looking at the door, just when the lights were turned off and they all fell silent.

_Oh well …!_

_Tick! Tack! Tick! Tack!_ It felt as if time stood perfectly still, as they just stood there, waiting. The rest were all silent, yet you were able to hear their slow breathing - well, most were breathing slowly, but _someone_ was sounding like a balloon, loosing its air quickly. _Weeeeezzzz! _Your eyebrow scurried up and you wondered why, the captain sounded like he was hyperventilating and expecting the worst case scenario.

This_ is getting better and better …_

And then it happened - _creek!_ Your eyes, trying to make out what was going on through the darkness, fell onto the door handle that was slowly moving downwards. _She_ was coming …! Taking a deep breathe, you made yourself ready to _on purpose_ **yell** at the captain. It was like signing your own death sentence!

_Kill me, please …?!_

"3… 2 … 1 …" Counted Zen whispering lowly as the door got opened slowly. "0 …" He fumbled with the light-switch and you decided to just get the massacre over with.

"SURPRISE!"

The light was turned on and you _threw things_ at her, like tiny flags and confetti … stuff like that. At first, the captain just stood there, staring, which of course was only giving you _more_ reason to believe; that she knew of your plan from the beginning. But then, as Miku looked around on her team and also the boys, actually looking as if she was expecting it, made your face drop. _She could _at least_ try and look surprised …_ You though.

But then, her eyes widened and _both_ her eyebrows joined yours in an adventure in space, trying to see which would reach Pluto first. "Oh …" She continued staring. "Oh!"

_Yes,__ OH! Dammit …_

"I- well, I- I don't know what to say!" She (fake) exclaimed, actually seeming to be happy - yet, having spend enough time with her, you could see the burning anger deep down in her eyes. And you weren't the only one able to do that … as Zen shared the same plan as you about simply jumping out the window at first given occasion. "A- a _surprise party_ for _me_?" God?! How long exactly could that mask hold?! You had expected her to break down and completely wipe you off the face of Earth by then, but she even managed to smile. SMILE!

But the male captain was shaking quite a lot and sweating. Each thing she said was a sword piercing him. In the end though, he managed to pull himself together and just as well stick with it to the end - he was dead anyways. "Yaa! Happy birthday, Miku! Aren't you just …" he coughed quickly, avoiding her gaze. "… h-happy?"

"Yes," Miku smiled that _innocent _smile at him. "I'm _very_ happy."

You sighed, _also _having the same thought as the soon-to-be dead captain. "Alright … Guess I should congratulate you too?" You gave her a sweet smile, or rather a 'please don't decapitate me'-smile.

"_Oh!_"

_Once again with the _Oh!_, huh?_

"You're in on it too?"

Was it just you or did her expression soften up?! This was seriously WRONG! Yet Zen noticed that too and sighed in relief - he was right in inviting you. "Well!" He clapped his hands together, motioning for the rest, still standing on line, having watched the _show_. Most of them weren't scared either, since when the captain went into one of her fits, her victims was the two standing next to her at that time. "Then let's get this party started, should we?!" He urged them all to sit down at the wonderfully decorated table - done by Riku, so don't expect much … - and start with the presents.

Slowly, VERY hesitant, you reached out and grabbed your captain's sleeve with a hand and guided her to the chair at the end, where the guest of honour should be seated. "Right …" You glanced at her and quickly retreated.

"I guess I should give you a gift first?" Once again Zen entered stage, a small parcel in his hands. Miku looked at it as he handed it over to her.

"Ah … thanks." Slightly curious you leaned over the VERY nervous lad's shoulder and glanced downwards onto the girl in the chair. Your brow furrowed. It wasn't on the list … _which means_, your eyes diverted onto the person, whom you were leaning on, _he bought it himself!_ You beamed at him, which earned you a disturbed look from his side off. _That's so cute!_

"I didn't buy this." You mimed at him and he answered by merely shaking his head. _Hm, hm?_

"No way!" Miku exclaimed, making everyone jump in shock. "You didn't!" At first you thought he had given her something … absolutely against her religion or something, judging her actions. But then you noticed the tone of her voice. Was she … happy? Quickly hurrying back to Zen's side (you having nearly jumped through the room seconds before) and looked down on the now open box in Miku's lap. _What could possible make her happy?_

Then your face dropped. "Is that a …?"

"It's a Taser!"

"…"

_Perhaps I should explain to you all, if someone doesn't know it yet, what a Taser is. __A Taser is an 'electroshock weapon', which means it gives off electroshocks … figured, right …? It fires off two small dart-things, and if you're hit, you're stunned. Or something like that! :)_

"Wow, I thought you said you'd never give me one, as it would be dangerous …"

"I still mean that, but you really wanted one so it's not like I could say no."

"…" _What is she going to use that for …?_

"Does it actually work?"

"Well, the one I bought it from said it did, so … I guess it does."

"Ah …" Miku, smiling, looked down on it, then glanced up at a _really_ disturbed you by then. "Nadjai-chan, would you mind doing me a favour?"

You glanced at her (and her sadistic eyes), then onto the Taser. "Yes!" You stated firmly, knowing exactly what she wanted to do.

"I … see …" She then turned her body towards you, raising her arm and … shot you anyways …

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

Luckily she hadn't completely turned up the power, so it was merely a few minutes later you woke up. You sat up and scared stared at the captain. "You just _shot me_?!" You exclaimed, unable to believe it. Well, you did _believe_ it, since it certainly _did_ hurt like --beep--. But, still! You hadn't thought she'd go that far! "Why did you freaking _shoot me_?!"

But the captain only ignored you, making your face drop, and in stead she was talking to the other captain. "It _did_ work."

"Seems like it." He answered, glancing downwards onto you, who was fuming now, _really _PISSED. Sometimes he really pitied that freshman … "Well, anyone else want to give a present?" He asked out to them all, noticing out of the corner of his eye that you quickly scurried away across the floor - you knew what was coming next.

"We will! We will!" Joruni happily waved a hand in the air and, along with the rest of the female regulars, stood up. "This is from us!" As she presented a long package to the _Devil_, she pointed around onto the second- and third-year players. "Though … not from Lumpy-"

"WHO'S A LUMPY?!" You yelled from one of the corners, still having enough senses left to argue about _that little issue_.

Joruni completely ignored the sudden outburst - which she had pretty much predicted anyways - and continued with her _speech_. "-as she was sort of _against_ our gift-"

"OF COURSE I AM! YOU KNOW WHAT SHE'LL USE IT FOR!"

"-but we still bought it-"

"… actually _I_ bought it, but … it's from you guys …"

"-for you!"

Miku received the package, also ignoring the shouts coming from the sideline. "Oh? For me?" She mock asked. All the regulars were beaming at her, thinking they'd now have a chance of getting into the _Good Book_, and not the Book of Tormenting. Her fingers moved over the paper that had been wrapped around it a final time, before she carefully removed it.

You hid your head in-between your legs, as you sat on the ground. This was going to end badly … you knew what was inside that package … and it wasn't good. Not at all.

"Oh …"

_Would you stop with the _Oh!'_s already?!_ You thought annoyed, but kept quiet as to not direct any unnecessary attention towards you.

"… a _paintball-gun_!" She exclaimed by then, making your worst nightmares come true - and _oh!_ how you could just _feel _her stare at you, that evil smirk plastered all over! And _that_ was why, you didn't want to give her a bloody PAINTBALL-GUN! She'd use it to make you run even MORE laps - and you couldn't even argue with it unless you wanted to become more holed than a cheddar-cheese! But … that wasn't everything … you froze as you heard the next sentence. "Have you checked if it works yet?"

Normal POV

"W-well …" Iwasaki (a.k.a. the vice-captain of the girls' team) stuttered, glancing towards the now tense Nadjai. "N-not …" God, she was signing that poor girl's death sentence. But; either that, or … one of them. "N-no. Not really." She sighed, praying for forgiveness.

"I see." She quickly loaded it. _Tack-tack!_ Then, smiling her devilish smile, pointed it towards the freshman, who, apparently, had a sixth sense by then, as she raised her head.

"I knew it …" She muttered, then, doing a cross in front of her chest, sighed. "Let's get it over with."

"Yeah, let's."

_Ra-ta-ta-ta-ta!_ They all stared, eyebrows no-where in sight. "Seemed like it was actually a _machine_-gun." Zen said amused, poking the now (once again) unconscious girl on the ground with a foot. "But, nicely aimed, got to give you that. All within a radius of three centimetres around the heart."

Miku only reloaded, making it ready for later uses, smirking as always. "Of course."

The rest just stared. Well, except for the fukubuchou, who was crying against one of the other girls' shoulder, sad that it was her fault, that the poor, poor freshman had had such an early death. "Don't worry, don't worry!" Shinobu said, patting her back, trying to get her off of her shoulder, as it started going numb. "It was either her or us! You had to_ sacrifice someone _- and she was the only option!"

"Right …" Zen muttered, then magically transformed back into his usual, cheerful self. "Next present!" This time it was the male regulars who stepped forward. Apparently; this time it was a _soft _parcel, which … in some ways, could actually be _more_ scary.

The freshmen boys (also the non-regulars who had been dragged into it too) glanced at each other, feeling rather _odd_. They knew what was inside it, and they had no chance in life of guessing _what_ exactly the Devil had thought, when she wrote _that_ on the list. Well, they came up with the idea _nothing_ - she hadn't thought at all.

"Oh my, oh my, another present?!" This time she raised an eyebrow at the package, when she felt the softness of it. But then she grinned, having it figured out. Once again the wrappings were removed and revealed … pink. Nothing but the colour pink. The people not into the present somewhat stared at it in disgust.

"What … the heck is that?!" Riku cried out, stepping back (am I the only one who forgot she was there?).

Miku smirked and carefully with two hands, held up the … pink bunny outfit. "Precisely what I needed!"

"W-what do you need _that_ for?!" They all exclaimed, stepping even _further_ back. "Are you going to wear it?!"

She stared blankly at them. "What do you think?"

"No."

"There's your answer! Of course _I_ am not going to wear it, but … somebody _else_ will." Everyone could just see how her eyes moved towards the _dead_ person on the ground, sending shivers up their spines. _The victim was … Nadjai_ - again. And deep, deep down in her (actually) secure slumber, she felt it too. Someone was making up evil plans about her …

_It really sucks to be me, doesn't it …?_

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

When Nadjai finally woke up again it was to the smell of cake. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked around, wondering why she was lying on the ground. But then it _all_ came back to her.

They were celebrating the Devil's birthday by throwing a surprise party. (why do you _throw_ parties and not hold them …?)

They had given her presents …

Zen gave a Taser, which ended up in her being shot and stunned by electroshocks.

The girl regulars had given her a paintball-gun … or rather machine-gun, which _also_ ended up in her being unconscious on the ground.

And now … she was waking up and finding out, they were all in the middle of eating cake _without_ her.

Oh yes, let's not forget the fact that she was dressed in a bunny outfit.

"Hiiiiiiiiii?!"

Pretty much everyone around the table turned and stared at the now panicking girl on the ground. Well, everyone except Miku, who just smirked. "What the heck am I wearing?! WHAT THE HECK AM I WEARING?!" She pretty much screamed, trying to get it off of herself. "Why- what- when- WHY?!"

"Well, I've _always_ wanted a bunny outfit …" Miku started off slowly, pricking her fork down into the _homemade_ cake - the reason why she was hesitant about eating it. "You see … I thought we could try and hit a _piñata_ later on."

Nadjai froze, head turning sideways towards her, horror written all over. "P-piñata …?"

"Yes, piñata."

"HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII?!"

In the end it all resolved into that Zen had to tie the freaked out girl onto a chair, as she tried scratching her way out the door - in stead of just unlocking it, but-! Riku stared at her friend, sitting right next to her. "Err … should I feed you some cake?" She asked slowly.

Oh how Nadjai's eye twitched. "Yes, _thank you_, I would appreciate it. Since my hands are FREAKING TIED!"

"Hai, hai, no need to get mad. Watch the blood pressure."

"I no longer _have_ any blood pressure. I lost that years ago … I'm just a hollow shell … I have no purpose in life any longer …! I should just-"

"Yeah, yeah … stop going emo already and say ah!"

She rolled her eyes, but none the less opened her mouth. "_Ah!_" Then she started chewing, watching the others around the table. Miku was happily chatting with the other regulars at the end of the table, actually seeming to enjoy it all - but then again, she wasn't the entertainment as someone _else_ was! Zen was apparently discussing something with his vice-captain, the others of his regulars listening in on it. Nadjai's freshmen buddies also looked like they felt rather uncomfortable in the current company. The one sitting closest to her was none other than the marvellous, incredible, the one, the only … Master Trickster of Rikkai!

She glared at him, when she noticed how he had that cheese grin plastered on his face, having his eyes fixed on the bunny in the chair next to him. "Looking good."

"Oh, shut up!" She retorted tiredly - _it _really_ doesn't matter any longer. _"And, Riku, mind scratching my tail, it's itching."

"Ew, no way."

"Please?"

"That's too gross!"

"Please! I can't stand it!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"**Would you people please _shut up_?!**"

_Zapp!_

Nadjai toppled off the chair, as once again the Taser had been aimed at her. This time hitting her in the _head_. That was followed by … silence … "Oh?" Miku stared at the weapon in her hand; then craned her neck to see the girl on the ground. "It reaches _that_ far too?"

"Seems like it …" Joruni chuckled. This was _the_ best ever birthday she had ever been forced to come to!

"O-OI!"

Apparently the victim was starting to get immune towards the electroshocks, as she stood up quickly once again, accusingly pointing a finger towards the senior. "Stop shooting me, would you?!"

"_What_? I only tried getting your attention!"

"You won't get attention if you freaking shoot me!"

"… perhaps you're right-"

"… of course …"

"-but I just wanted to know, when I got the present from you two." She motioned for her and Riku. Both of them froze, glancing onto each other. _Present?_

"Err … one second!"

The two girls dropped to the floor and crawled under the table within a split second. Here they put their heads together and quickly discussed the situation. "Did you buy any present from us?" Riku asked, panicking.

"N-no … I was too busy buying all the _other_ presents!"

"I haven't thought of it either!"

"What should we do?!"

"… Do you have a sock …?"

"No, I don- WHAT THE HECK DO YOU NEED A SOCK FOR?!"

Everyone _above_ the table stared down. _Socks?_

"We could do a puppet-show …" She muttered slowly.

"P-puppet … show?" Nadjai stared back at her in disbelief. Where the heck had this girl gotten her brain from - and was it even working?! "I … I'm not sure that she'd want that …"

"Well, do you have a better idea."

"No." She sighed.

"Okay … then … cut off your arm!"

"CUT OFF MY ARM?!"

Once again everybody stared. Zen and Miku exchanged looks. Looks that said everything.

_They hadn't bought a present …_

"You know, I don't even want to know _why_, but you won't get my arm, that's for sure!"

"Hm … leg?"

"_NO!_ You will NOT get _any_ of my lips!"

"Then what should we do?"

"I _still_ don't know!"

"Ah!" The light-bulb above Riku's head went on once again. "I know, all I need is a paper!"

"THERE'S NO WAY I'LL- Oh … Sure, I- I can get that …" They gave each other the thumps up and then, Nadjai descended to the normal level of humans. "Hi there! Don't mind me! Just continue with what you were all doing! Haha!" She laughed nervously, while slowly walking backwards, _always_ having her eyes on the predators - you'd never know when they'd jump you! Then she disappeared out into the kitchen, where she slammed the door after her. Everyone stared.

Under the table, Riku cursed lowly, coming to the conclusion she should have gone in stead. She had said _discretely_, not _look-at-me-everybody!_ Darn it… that stupid girl …

They were all quiet, trying to hear what was going on inside the kitchen, but nothing was heard, only the sound of _someone_ rattling through the drawers. Riku sighed … who on Earth would put paper into a drawer first of all?! Then again, it _was_ Zen's house. But then noise returned to the room, as the door was blown open and Nadjai stood there once again. "Ah!" Her mouth dropped open as she noticed they all stared at her. "Right … don't mind me, people! Haha … ha … ha … okay, never mind."

She scurried across the floor and down under the table once again, without looking to the sides and completely ignoring the others. Then she gave a grin to Riku, who only sighed. "Well, that went flawless …" She muttered annoyed, taking the paper from the black-haired girl. "Did you get a pen?"

"… You didn't say I should get one …"

Riku massaged her head. "No … but I thought you might bring one anyways. What's the point of only a _paper_?!"

"I don't know! You might have had an idea or something!"

"Not without a pen!"

''It's not my fault!"

"Yes, it is."

"No, why should it?"

"Because you should have been using your brain for once!"

"SCREW YOU!"

Everyone stared at the table again. What the heck was going on?

But in the end Nadjai gave up and … two minutes later was under the table again, holding up a pen. "I hope it suits your highness' taste."

"Not really-"

"…"

"-but it'll work."

"It better …" Our heroine turned the other way, not wanting to talk with the other any longer.

"Tsk …" Riku looked shortly up at her, but then turned her attention towards the paper. "What a drama queen." Yet she couldn't resist smirking, when she literally was able to hear a nerve snapping. "Ah well, can't be helped!"

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

Your POV

"Ta ta ta! We present to you our … well, gift, I guess …" You said, handing over a now folded paper. _So much happy birthday indeed_. "I hope you like it! Because it certainly was a long and hard trial - for _some_ of us!" You sent a sour look towards the girl, standing next to you. As usual, Riku only smirked.

Miku stared at the paper. The two of you used half an hour making a _paper_?! "… right … thanks." She slowly opened it and started reading. Soon after, she joined your _very_ good friend (… indeed …), with the smirking part. "Oh my, I'm flattered. I think this will come in handy!"

At first you only beamed at her, your (few) brain-cells not able to pick up the hints. But then, as you glanced from one girl to another, your smile dropped, notch by notch. _Eh …? _The paper went from hand to hand, and soon after everyone else was either grinning broadly, sending you pitiful looks or just breaking down, laughing. Your eyes locked with Riku's, as you silently asked for an explanation. She merely shrugged, which made you resolve to the final solution. You snatched the paper away from an innocent Iwasaki, who jumped high in the air from shock.

Your eyes scanned the content. And letter for letter your face dropped.

_Happy birthday captain!_

_We hope you're having a great day and that you enjoyed our surprise. Nadjai and I both wish you a wonderful life afterwards too and that you are happy, we decided to come too!_

_So, here's our present!_

_From me (being Riku): a shoulder-massage at any given time (as long as it's between 1-2 PM, Monday next week)_

_From Nadjai: twenty-four hours being your personal slave_

_Ja!_

_And once again; happy birthday!_

_With _love

_Nadjai and Riku_

"HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII?!"

This time you didn't even need the Taser to pass out …

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

"Jai-chan, are you feeling any better?"

You were sitting on a chair, staring at the wall as an empty shell. "Ah … I guess I survive …" You sighed, then turned your gaze towards the older girl next to you. "You know, sempai, you're probably the only _normal_ person in this room."

The vice-captain smiled sadly while nodding, completely agreeing. "Yes, you might be right …" She patted your shoulder. "You'll get used to this treatment, probably."

"Hm … thanks for caring, but I don't think I ever will … Do you think it will stop?"

"When we graduate-… actually, no." Her brow furrowed as she pondered over the thought. "She might actually come to school once in a while to check up on it all …"

_Crap …_ "I see …"

Both of you fell into a comfortable silence, staring at the wall. But then the peace was disturbed … "I know what we can do! PUT THE TAIL ON THE RABBIT!"

"…" Your eye twitched. Slowly, you stood up once again, catching the fukubuchou's eye. "Excuse me while I jump out the window …"

"Ah … enjoy …"

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

**IHRHC**! There we go! I've finally updated this, haven't I? I'm sorry for the long delay and all, but I guess you can live with that, no? Anyways … it was pretty long, but I don't hope it became _too_ boring or anything …

There's nothing more to say, except I might be slow with the next chapter too as I'm actually here the 8th of May starting with my exams. But I can see what I can do. Nothing else for me to say!

Well! I'd like at least five reviews (or more), but I can live with less too … but, five thank you! :) Now, off you go and REVIEW! Haha …

Ja!


	22. The Dreaded Kantou Tournament

**Review Answers** (IHRHC in the end):

People in bold are new reviewers! :)

Thank you to **karishina-KUN**, Rikkaifan, pontaalover, **SwtDreamsOfLife**, VixentheHellraizer, kaito142, Xandochu. THANK YOU ALL OF YOU! :)

To **karishina-KUN**: First of all, thank you very much for reviewing :) Well ... I got to give you right, they _do_ treat her REALLY unsettling! There's nothing to be sorry about - I like critique when it's good critique - and your's IS! Because by saying that, I understand what I should watch out for when I'm writing - like 'DON'T GO THERE!' and stuff like that :) So, do not worry! I'm HAPPY!

To **Rikkaifan**: Ahhh ... My loyal buddy! I can now write your name in my sleep! :) Aw ... it sucks, it really does! Bloody exams T.T I'm going up tomorrow too in GEOGRAPHY! BLOODY -- But I guess we'll survive, am I right? Neh? Hello ...? Are you there? OMG?! HANG IN THERE! AMBULANCE! ... I guess not? Don't worry I'll come for you in Heaven by tomorrow - I'm so much not going to survive TT.TT Thank you very much for the review! :)

To **pontaalover**: I can write your name in my sleep too, now! I love that you review all the time! If I could, I'd hug you (but I guess you don't want that anyways -.-). If you couldn't wait for chapter 22, I'd like to apologize ... since it took pretty long for me to get this out ... Eh hehe ... But here it is! So I CERTAINLY hope you enjoy reading it! XD

To **SwtDreamsOfLife**: I'd like to thank you too, for deciding to review my story - you have NO idea how happy that makes a messed up person like me (crap, I admitted it ... YOU DIDN'T HEAR A THING!)! I couldn't agree with you more ... After she got knocked out for the nth-time ... I thought it got a little ... yeah, you know :) I'm glad you informed me about it. And you know what, the two ideas you mentioned - I am absolutely CERTAIN I'm going to use those - if you don't mind, that is? ;) Because I'd like to see that too! I'll prop it into the story somewhere along the way - hehe! XD Thanks!

To **VixentheHellraizer**: I'm starting to get the hang of writing your name without looking too - THANK YOU for all the reviews so far! I completely understand what you're saying. I feel like that too ... coming home from school etc and then to sit down and read a story - especially a fun one - that really lightens the mood I think! Indeed, indeed - as long as you're happy, Earth will continue spinning and none will die XD ... right ... Ah ... about the HIIIIIIIIII-part ... hmm ... Well, you see, the I'd say it was 'phonetic spelling' - even though I'm not sure what that is (Blame my low IQ) - as it's something that you yell when surprised or something - Or, you do that where I come from :) So; a yell of surprise or Whatever, hehe. :)

To **kaito142**: Join the club, mate. --points to sign-- The 'Let's burn Miku' club. :) We've gathered for a single course, so burn her and so on and on in the tormenting XD Are you sure she's alive ...? SHE'S A ZOMBIE!! Gen-chan? I love it too - Gen-chan! XD Sort of Rolls of the tongue ... Well, might not have mentioned the guys were much in the lastest part, but they were there - let's just say they were hiding from the devil XD Well ... It's true I didn't mention them very much, so it's not your fault you might not have noticed them, that would be mine! :) But as I'll explain in the IHRHC at the bottom, they'll show more up later on. By the way, they were in on the Male Regulars' gift - the bunny outfit. ;)

To **Xandochu**: Last, but not least, it is YOU! :) Another loyal reviewer! HUG ME!! ... are you sure you aren't a freak? XD Just kidding! Thank you for the good luck - I need it T.T Sigh ... Yeah, I noticed the change on Quizilla - but ... I wouldn't use the word FINALLY ... Because I honestly can't figure out what to do and where to do it ... I got confused so ... And that dampened my spirits about updating there too T.T I had a draft saved for another update on My Life, but it got deleted ... I don't know if I'd like to return to it T.T But did you like it? I didn't but, everyone has their own taste ;)

WELL! Everyone, here's chapter 22! --pulls curtains away-- TA DA!!

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

22 - The Dreaded Kantou Tournament

Normal POV

In the end - luckily for some - the cops had arrived at the so-called birthday party. Apparently the neighbours had heard some quite _disturbing_ sounds from the rooms on floor 25 and wanted someone to check up on it. And indeed, something _highly_ disturbing was going on. When the police arrived, they found it to be some sort of cult, sacrificing a girl, dressed in 'what seemed to be a pink rabbit-costume' as it said in the police-report.

And so, as Miku somewhat had predicted from the beginning of it all … she spent a night in jail … Along with everybody else, who had come to the birthday - except one. While the two tennis-teams were locked up behind bars (where she completely thought they belonged!), Nadjai found herself (again) in a soft cell, pillows on the walls and cameras keeping an eye on her at all times. Yes … she had ended up in the asylum - AGAIN!

Here, she would get the best of the best treatment from some of world's finest shrinks, all there to help her. Not that she need that, but … apparently they thought she had gotten mental damage - even though she tried convincing them; she was always like that …

And that was the way, a _wonderful_ birthday ended!

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

The sun was shining brightly from a clear, blue sky. Birds were happily chirping from the trees, calling out to friends. And on the ground, where most things happened, people - children - made their way to yet another normal day of school. As always they would be able to relax and learn things from the qualified teachers. They could be with friends, happily chatting on the surrounding areas. Everything was peaceful at Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku. Another normal day had-

"**WHAT?!**"

Well, as I was about to say, another normal day had begun … _if_ it wasn't because the school had been cursed with two, unbelievable weird tennis-teams, that spread horror and death in their wake. Even though an outburst had been heard throughout the school, nobody really cared … not like it didn't happen every third minute.

But there were some, who flinched. That _what_ would probably inflict them too, and why, you wonder? _That_ belonged to a rather evil, sadistic, must-torment-everyone-smaller-than-me, captain of the girls' tennis team. Tanaka Miku. The most dreaded person in the world! And since the captain got surprised over something, so would the other members too … any minute now … And true enough.

"**Everyone, gather up!**"

Nadjai, having been let out of the asylum, sighed and walked - or rather got dragged - over to the rest, falling into lines. Joruni placed her onto the ground again next to her, among the other regulars, all in the _hideous _yellow regular jerseys. But before we go into a discussing about fashion, let's get to the point!

"What's the problem …?" The freshman regular asked, yawning. She'd never get used to morning practice, that's for sure. "Where's the fire … this time?"

"I've just heard the news!" Miku informed them, looking as if she was about to panic … which wasn't a good thing either, as normally _this_ came out of it: 'A million laps around the courts!'

Everyone stared.

"What news?" The vice-captain had enough courage to ask - God bless her, she was the only one …

"**We were supposed to be in Tokyo by now!**"

They stared. "_Eh?_"

"**For the Kantou Tournament, that is starting today!**"

They _continued_ staring. "_Eh?_"

"**Haven't any of you noticed the boys aren't here?! They've already left!**"

They _still_ continued staring. "_Eh?_"

"**If we don't get there in time, we'll be disqualified!**"

They _were_ still continuing staring. "_Eh?_"

Miku sighed, this was getting nowhere. "**If we don't get there in time and gets disqualified, I'll make you all suffer all the way to graduation - for the freshmen!**"

_Whoosh!_ They were gone.

Miku smirked, walking casually after the others. "That's better!"

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

"Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku, this is our line-up." The captain informed, handing over the papers to two guys, sitting behind a table, outside - which was just … weird. It was quickly skimmed over, and one of them nodded. In return, Miku got some _other_ papers, telling where their first match would be held at. Once again the devil captain sighed in relief and turned to face her team. "We barely made it-" Luckily the school had a driver, who was willing to _kill_ to get to the destination in time - he was proud of his job … "And we're first facing off again …" She glanced down onto the papers and her face dropped. "Hyotei Gakuen."

As predicted, she heard groans from her fellow third-year regulars, who had all faced off against the team the year before. But something she didn't hear was a puzzled voice from a freshman, wondering why they were all _crying_. "Where's Lumpy?"

Somehow the lack of youthness cracked everyone up. "Well-" Joruni chuckled. "She was having some troubles after the _joyful_ ride, so … she'll be back soon."

"I see …" She stared off into space, thinking about what the chances were; that the younger girl had gotten into trouble. "I'd better go get her …" _Well, they _were_ 100 per cent._

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

Your POV

"Alright guys, are you ready to get yet _another _win?" Zen asked, going with _good captain_ for now. If they began loosing, he'd let out the Beast. "If we win this time, it will be our 14th continuous streak of wins! If you loose, I'll lock you up in a room with Miku!"

Everyone laughed nervously. Well … it could be worse …

"Oh, that's right - I'd lock Jai-Jai up with you too!"

"LET'S WIN THIS!"

_Oi …_ You thought slowly, wondering if you should feel insulted. But none the less you walked over, pausing at the rows behind the gathered boys' tennis team. "Good luck you guys!" Before he was able to run away (screaming), Bunta - being the one closest - got hugged from behind. "Aw! You've come to cheer them on, have you? That's so cute, Strawberry-kun!" He only sighed, trying to ignore you completely.

"Ah, Jai-Jai!" _Since when have I become Jai-Jai? Well! Doesn't matter … I prefer that over Lumpy any time …_ "You girls made it I see?"

"Yeah, no thanks to you …" You muttered in return. "The captain nearly chopped us up …" He laughed. _Sadist …_ "But in the end, we made it … Anyways, who are you up against?"

The captain sighed, but then smirked. "Last year's runner ups, and they seem to be positive they'll crush us this year … Hyotei."

"Ah …" You looked towards the other stands, were people just continued showing up in another school's uniform. "Never heard of them."

"Well, they aren't that famous of a school-" _… Right …_ "-and they've lost to us like five years in a row when we've faced off. But it's not like they'll have a chance this year either, am I-"

"**THE WINNERS WILL BE HYOTEI!**"

The captain had got cut off by the cheering squad, who seemed to have arrived. Your eye twitched, as that sound-level was humanly impossible; only one had ever been able to do that … and … that made your eye twitch just a notch extra. "Aha …"

Zen chuckled, shaking his head at the people on the other side. "Just keep telling yourself that." Then he motioned for his regulars to gather. In the meantime you let go of Bunta (lucky him) and sat down too, completely forgetting you probably had a match too _and_ the captain was probably also cutting down the other regulars with a katana …

"Alright then." Zen said, clapping his hands together to get the attention. Not that he didn't have it already … "You already know the line-up and I certainly hope that our freshmen-trio has warmed up - you'll be the first to enter. Sanada, Yanagi, you first." He gave them an innocent smile. "Please do crush them completely."

"**The winners will be Hyotei! The winners will be Hyotei!**"

"And …" Once again he chuckled, making them all step a little back. "If you have a chance, knock those cheering baboons out."

"… Hai … Buchou …"

"That's good! Others than that …?" He paused, thinking his speech over in his head. "Actually … I don't think there's anything else - so, let's just enjoy it all and have fun! Oh, and destroy the opponents. Make them cry!" Then they walked onto court to greet the other team.

In the mean time you were in the middle of betting with Niou. Not who would win, but how long it would take for your two friends to annihilate the opposing team. "Five minutes!" You stubbornly said, crossing your arms over your chest.

Bunta secretly rolled his eyes at you, but then decided to continue with the argument - for the safety of everyone, as absurd as it sounded. "They can't finish it in five minutes! It's impossible; even though they are good enough! They need to get the point at least thirty times - and if in five minutes that would be six points each minute!"

"… So?" You stared back blankly, not getting him at ALL. "I could do that!"

"… You aren't human, that's why …" Niou grinned next to you, not bothering with the fact you would loose your money. Hey! You'd loose them to _him_ - so why should he stop you? "Don't argue with her, Strawberry-"

"… Stop calling me that …" Bunta muttered from the sideline.

"-If she wants to bet on it; let that be it. She knows, what she is doing-"

"… Do you honestly believe that yourself …?"

"-and we'll see! It might end that way!" Niou continued, completely shutting out Bunta, even though it was him, he was talking to. "So, how much will you bet?"

"Uhm …" You rustled through your pockets and your bag, taking out every single penny you could find. And so the betting continued. Niou and you were still bickering like a married couple. Bunta was _still_ shaking his head, trying to reason with you; but without luck. Jackal was _still_ wondering what he was doing there. And Yukimura was watching you all amused, smiling that _angelic_ smile of his …

Oh yes, a completely normal day for Rikkai Dai …

"**The winners will be Hyotei! The winners will be Hyotei!**"

"Oh for Christ sake - SHUT _UP_!"

Everything would be perfectly fine, _if_ it wasn't because of a bunch of screaming, cheering fan-girls _and_ boys (as disturbing as _that_ sounded), saying something that - pretty obviously - would _never _happen. You had stood up in the end (knocking Niou over on the way) and was now glaring at the nearest bunch of fan-girls. "Get a life in stead!" If it hadn't been the day where Lady Luck was on your side and had placed you among a bunch of guys, you would probably be found in an alley a couple of days later, throat cut open. _Wow … sometimes I'm lucky too!_ You thought, while reprimanding yourself about _thinking, before speaking_. Just … once in a while.

But ... A shadow fell over you …

_Uhhh …!_

"Hm, hm …?" A voice said slowly, a person standing behind you. "Seems like you don't like them very much either, am I right?"

"Depends if my hate will get me killed or …?"

"Ha, ha … Of course I'd never do that-" _Liar, liar, pants on fire …_ "I just … got an idea …"

"You're going to sacrifice me, aren't you?"

"What?! No way!"

"… like you did the other day, saving yourself …"

"I didn't-"

"Keh …!"

"Well, maybe I _did_, but … I'm not going to sacrifice you this time!"

"… As if …"

But in the end, you _still_ got dragged off by him. Shortly after, you were grinning just as broadly, and just as sadistic as him been informed about his plan. If anyone had passed by at that time, they'd wish they were in Hell and not on Earth … as it would be safer. "Ah, don't worry! Leave it to me!" You gave the captain two thumps up before running off to do … whatever you were supposed to do.

"Now that's a good girl …" He muttered slowly, making his way back to the others. But he never did get very far …

Normal POV

"**_Zen …_**" _The_ voice spoke to him, making him freeze right on the spot. He laughed nervously as she came into view. "Where is she …?" Miku asked, keeping her eyes fixed on him as they began walking for the court again.

"Eh …? I don't know whom you are talking about."

"Oh, _really_?"

"Really, really."

"_Really?_"

"I already said really, don't make me do it again!"

"Where is she?"

"… Not here …"

"I can see that …"

"Yeah."

"I need her to come with me."

"Sorry, can't help you."

"Do you want to die?"

"Not really, no."

"Then tell me where she is."

"I still don't know."

"Of course you do."

"Nope, I don't."

"You know where everybody is."

"Not everybody."

"But you know where she is."

"Can't say I do."

"I know you've done something to her."

"Can't say I have."

"Just tell me where she is."

"Can't do that, sorry."

She sighed. "… Zen …"

He opened his mouth to retort once again, but got cut off as the plan went into work. "Hi, everybody!" Miku stared, mouth pretty much on the floor, on the girl on the other side. Somehow she was able to get a Hyotei uniform from somewhere and was now _leading_ the cheering squad. "Are you ready to cheer them on to victory?!"

The Rikkai Dai regulars stared as much as everyone - or perhaps a little more? This was going to end up … wrong … Well, more than it was already. "what is the idiot doing this time?" Miku snapped at the captain, as they had arrived at the court, standing next to the others. "I swear I'll kill her!"

"Ah … please wait just a bit before doing so." Zen smirked.

The female captain glared at him. "I knew you were the master behind it … Would you please stop using _my_ members for whatever weird plans you have - you got your own! It's always me, who got to clean up the mess afterwards."

"Might as well use whatever I have at hand."

"Soooo!" Nadjai started off, having everyone's attention on her. Luckily none of her fellow students pointed out the fact, that she didn't belong to the school - and none of the Hyotei students recognized her from anywhere, but merely thought she was a part of the cheering squad … Tsk … how stupid can you be? "Let's get this started!"

They cheered her on, making her roll her eyes inwardly. I-di-ots!

"Now, what is Hyotei Gakuen?! Give me a B!"

"**B!**"

"Give me a U!"

"**U!**"

"Give me an L!"

"**L!**"

"Give me an L!"

"**L!**"

"Give me an S!"

"**S!**"

"Give me an H!"

"**H!**"

"Give me an I!"

"**I!**"

"Give me a T!"

"**T!**"

"And what is Hyotei?!"

"**BULLSHIT!**"

"…" Everything fell silent - eyes directed towards the squad, now looking like they finally understood. They had been set up! But then their _leader_ cracked up, pointing towards them. "Haha! Got you good, didn't I?! You said _Bull_! Oh my God! Ah … Bull …" She wiped tears from her eyes, trying to keep herself standing. "_Bull …_"

Miku and Zen exchanged looks. One held amusement, while the other held nothing but intent of murder. "You just had to do that, didn't you?"

"Ah … _Yes_."

Continuing with pointing and laughing at the Hyotei students, whom she successfully had controlled, Nadjai didn't notice a person walking over towards her quickly. But … painfully she got dragged back into reality as _someone _grabbed her ear and twisted it hard. "You know …" Miku said, dangerously low. "I need a _really_ good explanation for this. First of all; you just disappear, even though we got a match any minute now. And secondly; you humiliate the opposing team … without my permission!"

"A-ah! Buchou! It hurts!" She wailed out, trying to pry herself away, but failed. "I'm sorry! But I was ordered by Zen-sempai!"

"I don't care who told you to do what! And you perfectly well know, that you shouldn't take orders from him, but only _me_! Jeez!"

"S-sorry!"

"Whatever. Just hurry! We got a team to beat!"

And so the freshman got dragged of by a fuming captain to only God knows where. The two teams, left back, stared puzzled after them. Zen's eyebrow was raised, slightly curious, but then he once again clapped his hands together. "Now that was entertaining, but we got a match to win!" He pointed towards the two - a person never washing his cap, and another who never opened his eyes (if he had any, that is …). "Off you go and win, _win!_"

Shortly after the Doubles 2 match had ended and Niou threatened Bunta; that if he ever mentioned the outcome to Nadjai, he'd … well, die. It had actually ended as Nadjai had predicted - to everyone's astonishment. It _did_ take five minutes, since Sanada - not on purpose of course (… yeah, right …) - had knocked out one of the other players.

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

"Sit! And don't move one bit before I tell you to do so. Got it?"

"Hai, hai …" She muttered, scowling at the captain, but did further to tick her off - any more than she already was. Dangling her feet over the bench, where she had been put, she stared off into space. Suddenly she felt someone lean on her from behind and her head moved up and backwards. The rest of the regulars looked down upon her, smirking as they knew, she had once again gotten into trouble.

"So …" Ui Yayoi, a yet to be introduced doubles 2 player, said, smirking as usual. "What did you do this time?"

"Nothing much …" Nadjai muttered back, now turning her attention back onto her shoes. "Only _humiliated the opposing team without the captain's permission_ …"

"Ah …"

Steps was heard and the captain joined her team again, this time looking a little better - and not as mad. "Seems like we're all here - that's good!" She glared at Nadjai for a short moment, as if secretly referring to _something_. "As you know, last year we faced off against Hyotei too, in the third round, where we lost."

The freshman raised her hand. "Actually I didn't know-" Before she was able to continue with her questions about 'how they got defeated - and badly perhaps' hands covered her mouth.

"Not a good idea to continue … Buchou gets rather … err … you know - she don't like it to be mentioned." The other Doubles 2 player whispered in her ear - Kasamatsu Tamafune, a.k.a. Tama.

And true enough, Miku's eye twitched. "Right … But this year we will not let them do that! We've practiced, the old third-years has been swapped with great players, _and …_ we have our secret weapon!"

Everyone looked at the youngest of the players, yet she understood nothing but rather expected some sort of nuclear bomb to be drawn from a pocket. "So … what weapon are we talking about?"

"…"

Before they had time to explain it to a person with an IQ on -100; an arrogant voice drawled out to them. "Well, well, well … look what we got here!" They all turned to face another team, all looking at them with disgust. Nadjai noticed, that her friends' expressions changed too - yet she only curiously eyed the newcomers. "If it isn't the losers of Rikkai Dai. Keh! I can't believe you had enough courage to show up!"

Miku raised her head defiantly and stepped forward. "Aren't we thinking a little _too _highly off ourselves, or what, Akechi_-san_?" She then asked, keeping a kind voice (even though her regulars saw the shadow of horns and a pointy tail - the Devil was out).

"Ah … I wouldn't say that, no. I'm just speaking the truth, if we now look back at last year's humiliating defeat."

Miku snorted. "Oh yes, that might have been - but not this year, _my friend_. You see, this year we are a _lot_ stronger - and gotten a freshman ace." In the background, Nadjai tensed - once again she got dragged into the conversation. She sighed.

"A _freshman ace_? Ha! As if that will help anything - you'll be crushed none the less! It doesn't matter if you have _one_ good player - even _if_ she is good, as you say. If the rest sucks, then you'll loose. Hey! It might be that you'll get one match, but … that would be it." The other girl (Nadjai guessed it was the captain of Hyotei) scanned the Rikkai regulars, her eyes falling on the smallest on the bench. "Heh … how small - like a shrimp!"

The captain, Akechi, was too busy checking out the so-called ace to notice the other captain's smirk … along with the rest of the girls, surrounding the smaller one. "Uh …" Iwasaki said slowly, and being the only reasonable one, glanced towards the girl, ready to keep her back. "Did she just comment on her height …?"

"Yup." Joruni chuckled.

Nadjai's eye twitched. Shrimp? _Shrimp?!_ Who the HECK was a freaking SHRIMP?! "Look who's talking …" She muttered. The arrogant captain glared at her.

"Excuse me?"

"Well … have you ever looked into a mirror?" She asked, standing up. As she passed her own captain on her way to the other, Miku chuckled - why did things always go as she planned? "You're … what? Two years older than me? And still I'm like five centimetres shorter than you … And you call me small? Jeez, lady, I'm only twelve and _normal_ for my age!" She shrugged. "Ah well, height doesn't matter, now does it? Even if you were two meters or whatever, I'd still beat you."

"…"

"Maa! Whatever, whatever!" She waved it off. "We probably won't face off anyways … since you're probably too scared to get onto court against us, sending out your minions, am I right?"

"Y-you- Little-!" Before anyone had a chance of reacting, the actually _large_ captain had snatched up the girl by the collar of her shirt, making her dangle a little above the ground. "Care to repeat that, huh?!"

"O-oi, Miku-chan, we'd better-" Iwasaki was about to step forward, but her captain raised a hand, making her fall back. Miku was _still_ smirking. "A-ah …"

At first Nadjai only stared back at her, blankly, but then she opened her mouth and spoke up. "You know … you got some really pretty eyes …"

"H-huh? Oh, thank you … Wait! Hold it! Stop changing the subject!"

"Well, enough already." Miku drew the attention towards herself, as she stepped forward, slowly releasing her member from the death-grip. Nadjai plopped onto ground again on her feet, still smiling at the other. "Dear, dear Akechi_-chan_, should we stop resolving to violence against my members, thank you? Let's rather solve this like normal people-"

A snort was heard from the shorter one. "Since when have we become normal …" She muttered lowly, but still enough for them to hear.

"You provoked her, she provoked you. Let's just let that be that and get on to the next point. Soon, in about ten minutes actually …" She glanced at her watch. "Our match will begin. Since you have this much confidence and think, that you easily can beat us and especially our little ace here … why don't the two of you solve it in the match, if we loose, we'll forfeit - and your team will too, if it happens to you?"

"Are you stupid or something, Tanaka?" Akechi asked, eyebrow no-where in sight. "The line-ups have already been handed in - there's no way we can face off against each other!"

"Heh …? Scared, are we?"

"I'm not scared! There's no way I'd be scared of the Shrimp-!"

"HEY!"

"-but I'm just trying to explain things to you! We _can't_ face off against each other because it has already been decided, whom I'm going against."

Miku's smirk widened, and the other captain understood.

"Y-you … knew this would happen?"

"Why yes, of course. Our little ace here is playing Singles 1, just as you are, I presume?" She patted Nadjai's head, even though the other rather wanted to run away - once again she had ended up as the main victim in the captain's schemes. "So, what do you say? Are you strong enough - and brave - to face this little fighting machine?"

"Keh, of course I am!"

"Oh? Then, what about the part with the loser quitting and drops out of the tournament?"

"Sure, why not, like it'll be us anyways."

"Fine, both of us forfeits all the first matches and we'll begin with the last singles."

"Yes …"

"DEAL!" The two captains shook hands.

"Aw, damn it …" Nadjai muttered, as she got dragged towards the court.

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

**IHRHC**

Hello, hello! First of all, I'd like to apologize for the absence of me here on . I once again have a pathetic excuse at hand, so here it comes (might as well get it over with!). As some of you might know, my exams have just begun - already been up to four and the fifth is tomorrow TT.TT - and therefore I have had a lack of time to write stories. I hope it is okay, and that no one is big enough fans to die of the lack of moi! XD

Anyways ... here I am and I hope you enjoyed this part 22! As usual, I'd like to know what you think - and therefore go press the little button called go and REVIEW! REVEIEW! REVIEW! _REVIEW!_ I hope I made it clear, neh? Honestly, I'd like to get at least five reviews, but more wouldn't be minded either - the more I get, the more I want to continue writing! SO I give you something, and you give me something in return.

Isn't that perfect?!

Now ... to the more important things to discuss ...

**1.**

At the beginning of the story, for the boys the Doubles 2 started it all, but I guess you all know it goes like this: Singles-Doubles-Singles-Doubles-Singles, right? When I wrote it, it seems I had forgotten that important fact and ... well, being lazy as I am, I didn't want to change it XD Sue me if you don't like it! hehe ... So here's the order for matches in MY story:

Doubles 2

Doubles 1

Singles 3

Singles 2

Singles 1

Like in the Nationals in the manga/anime. ;)

**2.**

I found out that I've forgotten to mention all the names of the female regulars and - I don't know if you've noticed? - I snuck them in into the story along the way? Also; I wasn't sure if I had given Miku a last name ... so that was mentioned here too. If I have written something else along the way in one of the other chapters, please forgive me for my mistake - also I cannot remember if I gave Zen a last name either (cursed be me!) - so I beg for forgiveness for that too!

But here's the names of the female and male regulars - along with their class (also for me to remember XD) - name. Class. (status). Line-up - :

**Female Regulars:**

Tanaka Miku. 3-2 - Captain - Singles 1

Iwasaki Sata. 3-2 - Vice-Captain - Singles 3

Abe Shinobu. 3-4 - Doubles 1

Abe Shioko. 3-1 - Doubles 1

Fumihiko Joruni. 3-1 - Reserve

Ui Yayoi. 3-3 - Doubles 2

Kasamatsu Tamafune. 3-1 - Doubles 2

Fujika Nadjai. 1-1 - Singles 2

**Male Regulars:**

Tsutomu Zen. 3-1 - Captain - Singles 1

Morita Kaito. 3-1 - Vice-Captain - Singles 2

Adachi Goro. 3-3 - Doubles 1

Tsuki Kouta. 3-3 - Doubles 1

Morimura Yori. 3-5 - Reserve

Sanada Genichirou. 1-3 - Doubles 2

Yanagi Renji. 1-3 - Doubles 2

Yukimura Seiichi. 1-3 - Singles 3

So! That was the regulars all in all - I think I need some praise here, because it was bloody hard to write all those names AND remember if I had mentioned name and class earlier on ... I had to look some of the chapters through T.T Sooo ... if you find a mistake or anything (if you can remember?) then I wouldn't mind getting to know that :)

**3.**

As I have read through the reviews I've gotten to far, I have understood that I need to concentrate more on the _normal_ and not OC characters - since you probably want to know more about them. And truth be told, I wanted it to be a story like that too - but I'm focusing too much on my OC's. I hope you've noticed that I've tried and concentrate and put more focus on the Rikkai boys? But fear not! I am going to lead the story in that direction too - and remember this! There'll come two more years for these guys - just need to kick out Zen and Miku before then XD

And I will also try and be not that mean towards Nadjai, since I think I'm repeating myself somewhat ... which I was scared I did in the latest chapter too T.T

But I'd like to know your opinion too, since I wouldn't mind help at all! I'm doing my best, and I hope you all like it - if not, I'll change it, but not too much, since it is MY story and always will be! But you guys out there are my readers, and I love you were much and want to do everything I can to satisfy you XD Sooo ... That was about it ... I talk too much ... heeh ...

PLEASE (five at least) REVIEWS!


	23. Complete Humiliation

Actually, I decided to post this earlier than I got the five reviews :) I don't care - and you just miss the chance of getting your name mentioned HERE! Wauw, right?! :) Hehe ... anyways ...

So

**Review Answers**

Thank you to kaito142, Rikkaifan, pontaalover and meeghuanne009

To **kaito142**: Haha, me too - absolute fan - so I sort of ... hated myself for the last part O.o His reaction would probably be '"Ore-sama this and ore-sama that!" Fips hair. "Ore-sama, prowess, bla bla bla" and everyone would just ... staaareeeee.' Ah well ... depends if people would like them to show up earlier, else I'll follow the time they become a part of the tennis club. So, Kirihara comes soon, but will take some time for Yagyuu. :)

To **Rikkaifan**: Aw too bad about the exams T.T I only need Danish, English, Chemistry and Physics. Too bad ... --sigh-- Well, stuff like that just can't be helped. Well! I survived Geography, got 10, which is the second highest grade - six others got that too out of 70 - and I was the only girl ... Man power I'd say -.- What would the female population do without me - ME?! Well, good luck to you too! :) Let's both do fine!

To **pontaalover **and **meeghuanne009**: Thank you both of you for liking it - well, sorry to have put your names together like this, but there wasn't much for me to write - since I'd just like to say thanks! Hehe :) Hope that is okay! THANKS FOR REVIEWING!

HERE COMES PART 23 - **ENJOY!**

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

23 - Complete Humiliation

Normal POV

Bunta and Jackal stared at each other. Had the captain just said that … or were they hearing things? "H-huh?" The redhead stuttered, staring at the senior in front of him. Then he pointed towards the other boy next to him, who was also standing up. "Us?"

Zen chuckled. "Well, didn't the referee just call you out?" He asked, smirking and turning his head sideways onto the court, where two from Hyotei had just walked out - they had come to the Doubles 1.

"B-but! We aren't a part- we're not the regulars!" He tried arguing, definitely not wanting to get out onto the court and play. Well, as you might think; it was because he was scared that everyone watched him, that wasn't true … no, it was because _one certain someone_ might be … And he was not thinking about Nadjai - as she was getting ... murdered by the female captain at that moment - but a boy!

Once again the captain snorted. "And do we need _regulars_ to beat them? I don't think so!" Of course he killed two flies in one: first of all, he was pointing things out for the two freshmen, but he was also ticking off the opposing team, who easily could hear his rather high voice. "And anyways, you have already been called out, there's nothing we can do! Well, you _could_ forfeit, but …" His eyes darkened. "Then I'd have to kill you."

Before he blinked, the two was on court, shaking hands with the opponents. "Let's play a good match!" Zen gave them a last glance, and then he made his way to the coach's bench, where he quickly sat down.

"I hope you don't mind, Goro, Kouta." He asked the _normal_ doubles 1 players, whom he knew was standing right behind him.

The taller of the two shrugged. "I don't really care …"

"Same." The other said, shaking his head at the two rookies on the court. "And this might be interesting. Though; I'm not sure of your plan this time." The two glanced at the captain on the bench, as the last-mentioned chuckled once again.

"I guess these guys will be the backbone of the team next year, when we've quit. Just want to give them some experience before that happens - I don't want the club to burst into flames when I'm gone." He smiled inwardly, as they began.

"… Isn't it already …?"

"Very funny."

"… Just stating the facts …"

"Ah …"

"Game, 1-0." Even though they had started off pretty nervously, yet they were owning the Hyotei regulars completely …_Complete humiliation._

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

"Uhm, Buchou …" Nadjai started off slowly, as she found herself on the bench at the court, putting on her shoes and checking the shoelaces - and that they were properly tied; therefore her _captain_ was doing it.

"Hai, hai?" Miku answered cheerfully, making a shiver run down the other's spine. Was Death breathing down her neck or …?

"I was just wondering …"

"About?" The elder one checked the laces a final time, giving them the cleared sign - perhaps she wouldn't fall and knock herself out this time …

"Well … in this match here … how should I play?"

"What do you mean by play? Of course by hitting the ball!" She gave her a look that asked; are you stupid or what?

"… Yeah, I figured that out … but- should I finish it off quickly or would you prefer complete humiliation?" Nadjai looked down, while the other looked up. Their eyes locked and two identical sadistic grins spread. The regulars nearby shifted nervously.

"What do you think?"

"Right … complete humiliating coming up right away!"

And so she got helped up and walked onto court, towards the net. The other captain, Akechi, was already there, waiting impatiently - happily obvious of what was about to happen. Nadjai beamed - _up_, I'd add - at her. "Hi there!" She reached out a hand and - reluctantly - the other took it. "Let's play with no regrets and have fun, neh?"

"…" She only stared, probably wanting the complete opposite. "Ah …"

Nadjai raised an eyebrow at her. "_Ah_? Seriously, you look like an ogre, but I didn't know you had the vocabulary of one too." And right there, Akechi's vein popped - making the Rikkai regulars break down laughing. _Owned!_ "Heh … doesn't matter. Shall we begin, _sempai_." She grinned.

After having ticked off her opponent, she moved for the service line, waiting for the Hyotei captain to serve. "Damn … why did it have to land on rough?! I hate you too God …" She muttered, tightening her grip around the racket. "Ah well, doesn't matter, doesn't matter!" She mused, following the line of the ball, as it fell through the air. "Just got to do _complete humiliation_! Easy!"

_Bock!_

In the blink of an eye, the ball had passed her. "H-huh?!" She turned and watched the ball bounce against the wall and then lay still on the ground. "Oi!" She twirled around again, pointing an accusing finger at the other. "I wasn't ready!"

"Keh! Just pay attention, Shrimp!" She yelled back at her, moving to do the next serve. "It's not my fault."

"Yes it is …" Nadjai muttered, also walking to the next spot. Her grip tightened once again. _Bock! Bock-bock-bock …_ Once again it went straight past her. "…" Her eye twitched. "That wasn't supposed to happen …"

"Game, 1-0."

"2-0."

"3-0."

"O-oi!" She stuttered, falling to her knees after having run around the court after the ball in vain. "That aint fair!"

"AH?! Captain; breathe!"

"**NADJAI!**"

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

"This is starting to get more and more weird …" Niou cackled and stood up. The two other freshmen had just walked off court, having beaten the other team 6-1. Both looked rather worried at first, when the captain walked over to them. Yet he only placed his hands on a shoulder each.

"Well done - even though you let them get a game …" They laughed nervously. "Ah, doesn't matter; I guess it couldn't be helped!" He motioned the trickster to get onto court now, and quite _obeying_ he did so - somehow that boy could be terrifying sometimes too. At the net, he grinned openly at the third-year in front of him. "_Piku!_"

God have mercy on the senior … because the Trickster of Rikkai wouldn't …

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

"**What do you think you are doing?!**" The captain bellowed.

"M-Miku-chan … calm d-down …" Iwasaki tried from the sideline off, but got shoved away. "Or … never mind …"

Miku's eyes bored into the younger one, barely resisting the urge to rip out her heart since there still was a match to win. "_What_ are you doing?" She repeated, hissing - which was _way _scarier than yelling (since she did pretty much 24/7 …). Nadjai scratched her head, trying to avoid eye-contact … of course if it wasn't because the other had her head in a headlock already.

"Err … playing?" She suggested, but shortly after tried wriggling her out again, when her ears got twisted. "A-a-a-! It hurts!"

"Have you even seen the score so far?!"

"Well … y-yaa …"

"5-0! **5-0!**" Luckily, she had returned to yelling …

"I know that …"

"**Then why aren't you doing something about it?!**"

"B-buchou … W-won-"

"Iwasaki; **sip it!**"

"H-hai …"

"And _**you**- …_"

Nadjai waved nervously at her. "Ah?"

"**Start winning some points or I'll kill you!**"

"… You shouldn't kill people, it's not healthy …"

"Iwasaki, **what did I tell you?!**"

"Hai …"

"But captain … It's actually a part of the plan …" Nadjai muttered slowly, pouting. No one ever listened. Nooo, they just started with yelling and thinking _that_ would solve everything. If it didn't … Hey! Let's just try threatening people!

"…" They stared. Plan?

Miku's eyes narrowed. Now, was she just trying to lie her way out of it all or …? "Please, do explain."

"Ah …" She rolled her shoulders as she was finally released. "Well … you said complete humiliation-"

"… Doesn't look like it so far …"

"-and so … What is more humiliating, than to be only one game from winning; and then the other makes a comeback! And she won't even be able to get one more point after that …"

"… So you've actually let her get all these points so far?"

"Yeah."

"**Are you stupid?!**"

"… Not what I know off …"

"**What if she gets the final point and we'll loose because of that?!**"

"Players, enter court again."

Nadjai smirked and walked out. "I doubt it."

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

The senior dropped to the ground, racket blown away far from him. The spiky-haired boy walked off nonchalantly, his racket over his shoulder. "Hope that was satisfying enough, cap'." He said to the older one, waiting for him at the bench. Zen wiped imaginary tears away.

"It's just perfect!"

"I know."

"Ah?! Doesn't this mean we've won already?!" Bunta exclaimed from the audience-stands. "Can we go home now?!"

"… No."

"Eh? Why not? I've run out of bubblegum!"

"We need to play all the matches, even though it doesn't matter."

"That sucks …"

"Yaa …"

"Well, whatever … Yukimura, you're up."

As the newly arrived (and slightly uneasy) regular of Hyotei noticed the princess descending onto court, he actually relaxed. There was no way a pretty boy like him could do much damage! Well … as they say: ignorance is a bliss. Yukimura, at the net, gave him a sweet/sadistic smile and shook hands. "It's nice playing you."

… Three minutes later the player lay unconscious on the ground …

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

"**You'd better do it properly or you're dead meat.**"

"Mi-"

"**Iwasaki!**"

"Hai …"

"Do this and do that …" Nadjai sneered to herself, _bitching_. "Yack, yack … then she could just do it herself … I'm not her bloody slave or anything! Darn it …" She stopped at the service-line and glared up at her opponent, who seemed to have gained even _more_ confidence.

"Are you ready to loose?" She called out to her from the other side off, preparing to serve.

"Just get it over with …" And that was when she released it …

"T-that-!"

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

For the final match, Zen had run out of freshmen (how weird as it sounds …) and therefore had written himself on the line-up - just to finish them off. As you might have predicted; that didn't take long either and soon after he stood among the others, celebrating their first victory.

Bye-bye Hyotei!

Once again they lined up at the net and faced the … err … remaining two Hyotei players, as the rest lay unconscious among their cheering-squad. "Thank you for playing!" They chorused and bowed. Zen shook hands with the vice-captain. "You played well, but … I got to admit, it was complete humiliation for you guys!"

"…"

"Ah! Buchou, can we go see the girls playing now?!" Niou grinned.

Zen waved them off. "Fine."

"Yes! Let's go!" Bunta grabbed the nearest person (being Jackal) and dragged him off with him, the other freshmen following right behind. As they got close to the court, where it all happened, they heard the sound of shock from afar. Soon after the court came into vision and they saw Nadjai standing there, close to the net and bouncing a ball on her racket.

They jumped the stairs and soon stood among the other regulars just of the opposite sex. "What is the score?" Yukimura asked the nearest of them, yet he received no answer. "Hello?" He chuckled, reading their expressions.

"She has just won." Renji said, looking - or not?! - at the two girls on court.

"How do you know?"

"It's on the board." He stated then. "5-7."

Nadjai turned from the out-of-breathe girl, kneeling in front of her. "Too bad." She said and walked towards the captain, who watched her every move.

"Lumpy-"

"…"

"-wasn't that-"

"Yes."

"Ah." At first she was silent, thinking it over, but then she lit up and clapped the other on the shoulder. "I knew you were something special! I guess it's our win!" Nadjai smiled back and then greeted the rest of the team.

Yet the male regulars stared. "What was what?" Bunta asked puzzled.

"No idea." Jackal answered, looking just as clueless as the strawberry next to him. Though, before they had more time to discuss it any further, her eyes had fallen upon them.

"You guys came to cheer me on?!" She exclaimed and jumped the nearest. If anyone is curious as to whom, it was Sanada, who had stayed silent for the entire time. He didn't even try to pry her off, but in stead muttered to her: "You used _that_?"

Her eyes turned up to his and became dark. "Yes."

"Hm …"

"What's _that_?"

"None of your business."

"Ah, hai …"

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

Most of the players were sprawled out over the grass here and there, chatting and drinking (Ponta) - relaxing a little before their next matches. All, except two. Miku and Zen stood some way from the others, whispering together in hushed voices, continuing to glance towards a girl and her six friends (sort of a lucky girl, no? 1 girl, 6 boys?).

"She used it, Zen."

"I know. I just managed to see it …"

"I always had a feeling she was good, but to …"

He nodded.

"Muga no Kyochi …"

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

**IHRHC!**

Yaa! And that was part 23. I'm sorry if it isn't as long as the others, but these was the first of the matches (both against Hyotei - so they are out XD) and I _hate_ writing matches, so I elegantly put it on 1.5 speed, hehe. But … some might have noticed that Nadjai went into _freaky mode_ along the way in the match - and here's a short explanation.

You all know that, for example, Ryoma has achieved _Muga no Kyochi_, where you can copy all moves you've seen so far, right? And you probably wonder how a rather clumsy, dim-witted girl can do that, right? (probably somewhat Mary Suish, neh?) but it's because you can be good at sports even though you don't have any brain cells at all - and there's more than meets the eye, remember that!

Of course I'll explain it later on in the story, but it's just to avoid having any questions about it - I don't have the energy to answer it! XD

So, that's about it!

Feel free to review - I will not set a limit this time since I can't hold it myself -.-

But I wouldn't mind getting as many as possible - and remember, the more the merrier!

Bye-bye! Hope to see you next time in chapter 24 (which I'll begin writing _now_!) - _Why Marui is so Different!_


	24. Why Marui is so Different

**Review answers:**

Yay, a lot has reviewed this time! :) Thank you so much to

rikkaifan, pontaalover, SS-lover06, kaito142, meeghuanne009, kawaii.meiko, VixentheHellraizer and Lita

To **rikkaifan**: As usual, thanks! :) Well, almost and almost done, not sure - but close by, yes. Hm, about the part if Marui likes a boy and if it's Jirou - hmm ... you were halfly right ... but we'll see what part it is!

To **pontaalover**: Thank you very much for sticking with my story, even though I'm such a slow updater lately! :)

To **SS-lover06**: If I'm not wrong, then this is the first time you've reviewed, right? Then THANK YOU VERY MUCH! I'm glad you enjoy reading it! Here's another part for you!

To **kaito142**: Hm, I'm not sure ... but I don't think it's that one - the one where he glows gold is ... the third door in Muga no Kyochi - Teni Muho No Kiwami, the last stage or something. Eiji tutoring Ryoma in how to sing?! It's a must hear! XD

To **meeghuanne009**: Yaa, I thinks she's pretty good too - though I think it's sort of Mary Suish? XD Oh well!

To **kawaii.meiko**: I have no idea if you've reached this stage in the story yet or ... since you reviewed chapter 1 and 2. But here's my responce - you'll probably get here one day or something! XD Well, about time you review my story too! Hehe, I think I've reviewed yours a lot - but then again, it's WAYYY better than mine! :) Hope you've enjoyed all the chapters you've read so far! Can't wait for YOU to update either!

To **VixentheHellraizer**: hehe, Well I hope I AM continuing with my good work - and that I haven't become lazy or anything! Please tell me what you think! :)

To** Lita**: YAY! NEW REVIEWER! LET ME HUG YOU! :) If I had more time (my mom is yelling at me for shutting down) I would have started a LONG talk with you - nice review - but I have to keep to the THANK YOU part! So, thanks a lot! :) I'm happy!

NOW! Let the story continue!

--pulls curtains apart--

TA DA!

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

24 – Why Marui is so Different

Normal POV

Self-proclaimed genius, volley specialist and addicted to bubblegum. Three things, that you'd normally link together with Marui Bunta. Other things that might pop up, when his name is mentioned: reddish hair (_definitely _not_ his real colour!_), blood type B and … absolutely scared out of his mind at that time. The Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku regulars had been gathered once again, after they both had crushed yet another team and ready to head home for the day. But … something that the captains hadn't expected was the rapid … fan girls …

Nadjai, standing next to the strawberry, glanced nervously around, but also tried keeping her eyes on Bunta, wondering why he looked like Death was breathing down his neck. "Is something wrong?" She asked, eyes falling upon the female captain, as she noticed, the older girl was staring directly back at her. Her eyebrow flew up, but she turned towards the other freshman again. "Strawberry-kun?"

"A-ah …" He shook his head. "No … not at all …"

She rolled her eyes. "It may be that I got the worst IQ in school, but I can see you're more than nervous."

"W-who's nervous?" He laughed slowly, continuing with scanning the area. "I'm not, that's for s-sure!"

"… Aha …"

"And don't you have your own problems to worry about?"

"…" Silence. "I do …?"

"Well, you _do_ have the captain watching you like a worried mother-bear." He stated, somehow forgetting to be nervous as he started arguing with her. Nadjai pursed her lips, once again watching Miku along with Bunta. Then she nodded slowly, sighing.

"True …" And so she decided to get rid off _her_ problem before taking care off _his_. Her eyes locked with the captain's, beckoning her to come over. Sending a last, poisonous look towards the screaming fan girls, she waltzed over, looking down upon her team member.

"Ah?"

"… Buchou … why are you watching me?"

"I'm not watching you."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, YOU ARE!"

In the end, as Bunta has expected, Nadjai was the first to snap. He sighed, glancing around a final time before concentrating on the two once again. "Seriously …" He muttered slowly.

Miku sighed too. "Yaa, perhaps I _was_ watching you- …"

"_HA!_"

"-but there's a good reason."

"Oh, _really_?"

"Really."

"_Really_?"

"Really."

"… Get on with it, you two …"

"And what is this _good reason_ of yours?"

"Well, I just thought you'd might be targeted."

"T-targeted by what?"

"… I could come up with more than one thing."

"…"

"First of all, there's the opposing team … and then there's _those_." She pointed over her shoulder at the fan girls, _still_ going "kya!" over the male tennis players. Nadjai's eye ticked, as she was about to ask _why_; it was _her_ and not any of the other regulars. But Miku, having one of the _highest _IQ's in school, had figured that out already. "Because you're our freshman ace – and I'd probably use you in some scheme and win it all with a single battle-"

"… I knew you were planning something like that …"

"-and also because you're being friends with Zen's freshmen-"

"… We _belong_ to the Buchou …?"

"-so I was just standing here, making sure you weren't being killed!" She beamed happily at her, which send chills down the two freshmen's spines.

"… Ah …" Nadjai straightened up. "Well, Buchou, I appreciate it and all, but I'm capable of taking care of myself!" She nodded proudly of herself, giving the other girl two thumps up. "So, you don't have to trouble yourself with this!" And before Miku knew of it, she was being pushed away by a blabbering girl. "Go have fun with your boyfriend – can't believe I said that … - we'll take care of everything here!"

Therefore, still slightly concerned, Miku walked over towards her boyfriend, not glancing back at all. Well … if she didn't want her help, then suit herself! Though … it was all for their win … "Oi! Get the Hell away from my boyfriend! **He's _mine_!**"

"Haha!" Nadjai stared after the other, gleefully turning back to Bunta. "See? God, I'm good – I even made the captain run away with her tail be-"

_Bock!_

"**I heard that!**"

She rubbed the back of her head, where the ball had hit, now laughing nervously. "My bad …" But then she quickly got over her sulking and stuck a finger under Bunta's nose. "Now, _spill it!_"

"Spill what …?"

"The beans!"

"… What beans are we talking about …?"

"… Who said beans?"

"… You …"

"I did?"

"…"

"What were we talking about?"

"_KYA!!_"

Before Bunta had a chance of _shaking his head_, their attention got caught by the obsessed girls, standing on the side-lines around them. Both watching the princess in pity, as he got floated by the girls, disappearing in the sea of screams and _we love you!'_s. The last thing they saw was his hand, getting dragged down.

"_Niou-sama! Please look over here!_"

Expecting to see the same fate fall upon the trickster, they turned and stared. Yet, what met their eyes were … a guy gathering as many phone numbers as possible. Well, only the _cute_ girls', and making the rest stand crying in a corner, glancing towards him, _still_ being in love.

"_S-Sanada-sama!_"

Nadjai snorted, as she saw Sanada. As the others got attacked with no warning at all, he was standing quite casually (as casually as _he_ now does), the girls watching him from afar; hearts written in their eyes, yet too scared to even move within forty yards range. They may _love_ him, but their lives were still important – if only a little.

"_Yanagi-sama, you can have my measurements too!_"

"…" Both of them wondered, exactly _what_ measurements were Renji gathering from the girls? He was just standing there, eyes closed as usual and … playing statuette or something. And that was the perfect opportunity for the girls to take pictures next to him … Honestly, can you be _more_ desperate?

"_Wahh!_"

Poor, _poor_ Jackal was _really_ wondering why he had entered the team. He should have known from day one, when spotting the people from the "football team" as of earlier, that he should have run – as fast as possible, back to Brazil. But _no!_, it wasn't that bad – he could take it! … He would take mental damage before finished with his first year …

"… You know, Strawberry-kun, I'm scared."

"… Ah …" But then it suddenly hit her. She looked around, fists raised; ready for battle. The redhead watched her, wondering if she was seeing things. "Is something wrong? - more than usual, that is."

"W-why- why aren't you attacked too?!" He stared blankly at her. "I know you have fan girls too, but … haven't you noticed?! They're not here!" She pointed around, starting to panic. Something was horribly wrong, she was positive.

Bunta rolled his eyes. "Get over it …" He stated, sighing, while pointing over his shoulder. "They're right there."

"Huh?"

Nadjai looked up towards the direction, he was pointing. And true enough; there they stood, watching from around the fence upon them, glaring at her with envious looks. "See?" He asked. "They're just too scared to get over here."

"Why would they be scared?"

"… She's still watching."

"… I should have figured …"

A shadow loomed over them ...

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

Your POV

"Marui-san!"

You let out a sigh of relief. _Thank God, here they come – started getting nervous._ And so you turned around, snatching Bunta by the wrist on the way as he was in the middle of running away, prepared to see the obsessed fan girls going for their idol. But … there was no more than one and … it was a guy …

"…"

"Here he comes …" The guy next to you muttered, trying to break free from your Grip of Death. He tried dividing his eyes, but the constant _screaming_ from the other boy made it sort of hard doing so - he was bloody difficult ignoring! Your eyes fell on the badge on his chest. _Hyotei?_

"Wah! Marui-san, I saw your match today! You were awesome!"

Behind him a couple of other guys from Hyotei followed close by, looking slightly disturbed by the scene; yet they kept quiet. The stopped not far from the two of you, but you did not really pay attention to them, but rather the orange-haired boy. Then you poked Bunta in the side, muttering to him. "Who the _heck _is that?"

But you got no answer at all, as your friend was completely frozen. "We didn't have a chance at all!" The boy continued; looking like some hyped up kid in a candy shop (a.k.a. you). He didn't notice the glares from the Hyotei students at all.

"Oi, Jirou-! I don't think the captain would like hearing that!" One of them called out. Your eyes fell upon him – or rather his hair. Then you cracked up.

"Oh my God! Your hair makes you look like a lollipop!"

"…"

"What did you say?!" He snapped back at you, yet you only continued pointing and laughing. If it weren't because of his buddies, he would probably have jumped you at that time. "How dare you?! Like you look any better, _Shorty_."

_SNAP!_

Bunta massaged his face. "Of course, that's figured … of all things … _Shorty_ …" Knowing that he alone would have no chance of saving the _innocent_ freshman from Hyotei, he turned on his heel, trying to find _someone_, who could.

"AH?! Marui-san, where are you going?!" The orange, Jirou apparently, quickly jumped after his idol. "Wait for me!"

"WHO THE HECK IS A SHORTY?! I'M TALLER THAN YOU!"

"YOU?! AS IF-!"

"WANT TO HAVE A GO AT IT?!"

"BRING IT!"

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

"Let me at him!" You growled at Niou, who – chuckling, I might add – held you back from continuing _scratching_ the boy. "I swear; I'll rip out his guts and feed them to him!"

The trickster only continued laughing, holding you back with ease; wasn't that hard. As long as he held your arms back, you were completely defenceless – unable to _use the nails_. "Easy there." In the meantime, the lollipop was being held back by some of his own school, yet two people were needed for that.

"HA! Look at this! I'm stronger than you!"

"No way! It's just because Spiky-kun is stronger than those two sissies!"

"Why thank you!" Niou commented from the side-line.

"No problem … honestly, you're a bunch of losers! _Losers!_"

_SNAP!_

And so … the two, holding the reddish-haired boy back from jumping you, let go and … _jumped you too_. "BRING IT!"

Sanada and Yukimura, being the only two _sane _people around, stood not far from there, only watching. The princess chuckled slightly, eyebrow raised, curiously, as you got pressed down by the group of Hyotei's. After that, the Rikkai boys joined the pile (Jackal somehow being one of them), trying to save you – or just wanting to beat someone?

"Oh my God?! She bites!"

"Yeah, I do! And I got RABIES!"

"How fascinating." Yukimura chuckled.

"…" Sanada decided to just … keep silent.

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

"**What is going on here?!**"

"Haha … This looks like fun!"

"**Zen!**"

"Sorry, sorry."

As soon as the female captain of Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku had spoken up, the boys from that school had scurried away, standing up straight. They were standing as far away from the crime-scene as possible. Though, you; having heard it too, was a bit _busy_ at that time. "Y-you people … mind … getting off of me …?!" You called out from the bottom of the pile of … bodies.

"Tanaka, what are you doing to my students?!"

People just seemed coming in endless streams or what? At that time, the _regulars_ of Hyotei (of both genders) had arrived, looking for their missing freshmen. And what had met their eyes?! Around five of their members on a single (short) girl. Of course, you, having that sinister(?!) personality and way of thinking, saw the perfect opportunity. While the others got up, bowing and apologizing to their captains, you continued staying on the ground, wiping your eyes. "Wah! I don't know what I did, but they just suddenly attacked me!" You (fake-)cried, shielding your face with your hands, hiding the grin, quickly spreading widely. "R-really …!"

Miku – of course even _more_ sinister – decided to join in on the fun. "Honestly, Akechi_-chan_, I'm not sure what I should do. If I should report or not! But having _your_ members attack _my_ member – one of my _regulars_ even – I am _very_ close, doing so."

Everyone from Rikkai Dai backed away, while she proceeded forward.

She slowly knelt down next to you, putting a hand on your head. "There, there – it's over now." Then she moved in front of you, as she had spotted your grin, which you were unable to hide any longer. "If she as much as has sprained a finger, you'll very soon find your school burning."

"…"

Akechi sighed, knowing fully your plan, and turned towards the _delinquents_. "Who started it? You or _her_?"

Your eye twitched. _She's not as stupid as she seems. _You had to put on another layer of _innocence._ "H-how could you p-possible b-believe it was m-m-me?!" You hid your face in your legs, sobbing loudly. "T-that is s-so unfair! They started it!"

"AH?! That ain't true!" The lollipop argued, stepping forward. "She started criticizing me, calling me a lollipop!"

You head shot up. "You _do_ look like a lollipop! Don't blame me for saying the truth!"

Miku rolled her eyes inwardly. _Perfect_, you just ruined the plan …

Akechi stayed silent for a while, glancing onto the two freshmen; both once again glaring daggers at each other. "Well … she is right, you look like a lollipop-"

"HA!"

"NOT TRUE!"

"-but still, no one should talk bad about others – so it's _your_ fault!"

"EH?!"

"_HA!"_

"SHUT UP!"

"But … how could you possible start a fight, just because of that?"

"We didn't." You argued back.

"Really?"

"Yeah, the lollipop called my Shorty!"

"…"

Miku put an arm around the other captain, chuckled. "And the pieces fall into place."

"…"

"Reminds me off someone else …" She continued.

"…"

"… All Hyotei students must be stupid, huh?"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

In the end, you all had managed to get divided and you were now sitting in the school bus, on your way home. Next to you Bunta sat, looking blankly out the window. Your vice-captain quickly patched you up, as you had gotten a few scratched that day. "There we go." She said, sighing. "Try sitting still, ok? We don't want blood all over."

"Hai, hai." You sighed right back at her, turning your attention to the freshman next to you, as the other girl left to sit next to the captain. "You know, Strawberry-kun, there's something I've been wondering about."

"Ah …?"

"… What's with the fan boy?" You asked, shivering by the mere thought. "I didn't know you were like the princess – being admired by _boys_ even."

"Haha … so funny …" He retorted dryly, continuing with staring out the window.

"Aw, don't be mad! It's not like you! Now, tell, _tell_!" You whined – and planned on until he finally _spilt the beans_, which he knew. He let out a _huge_ sigh.

"Fine! His name is Akutagawa Jirou and a freshman from Hyotei … He began _idolizing _me after a tournament – Newcomers Tournament or whatever – wanting to be just like me … At first, after that, he started following me and watching _all_ my matches – trying to copy my moves. Luckily, after we started in middle school, he didn't have much time … so I hadn't seen him for a long time …"

"…"

"Are you even listening?" He asked annoyed, turning to look at you.

You were sitting, grinning broadly, having a hand stuck into your mouth, trying to keep yourself from laughing out loud. "T-that's why you're so different from the others, Strawberry-kun! While they only got female fan girls (except Princess), you're just so cute that boys fall in love with you too!" You laughed out loud, not able to hold it back any longer. "Marui; the boy magnet!"

"Just shut up … would you?"

"No."

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

Yaa, first of all, I'd like to apologize for my absense. But if anyone has read what I said on my profile, we had a burglar who stole EVERYTHING - including my laptop. I had already written this part on it, but it got stolen and so I had to rewrite it all once again ... and I just didn't have the energy or will to do so ... therefore it might be a little boring along the way - so sorry. But I've just gotten a new laptop so I'm going to update again!

Hope you enjoyed!

By the way, I'd like to know whom you want Nadjai to end up with - one of the soon-to-be regulars - you can pick ALL of them!

Yukimura

Sanada

Renji

Bunta

Niou

Jackal

Akaya

Yagyuu

All of them, so just tell me :) If you want more of them to go for her, tell me too! I can always put it in - I got ideas already XD

Well! Reviews are apreciated - so, bye bye! For now that is!

LOVE TO YOU ALL! Hehe!


	25. Why Girls Just Love Niou

**Review Answers**

Thank you to Kara, Moonlitelover, Xandochu, kawaii.meiko (remember the names being underlined isn't because I thank them more than others, it's just that they are new reviewers! I love all of you :) ne?)

To **Kara**: Alright, you go for Sanada, do you? :) Me too - well, as one of them that is! Your vote has been counted! Hehe ...

To **Moonlitelover**: Hehe, I think Nadjai and Atobe would be a really entertaining couple ... perhaps a little disturbing and they'd argue 24/7. But how can you know if you love someone, unless you try stick with them - in good AND bad?! Well ... hehe, I could probably always introduce her to him, see how that would go! And if it wouldn't work with Atobe, then hey! We still got a dusin cute regulars to go for! :) NadjaiXEVERYONE! Now _that_ would be interesting, yes indeed!

To **Xandochu**: Well, you have been absent for some time now - I missed you! T.T --cries-- But I'm glad you're back! Yaa ... I think it sucks with the robber too. Damn, he stole all of my stuff! I'll burn him if they catch him! Hehe, Yukimura and Sanada, as I decided to stick with in the first place - exactly what I got the most ideas for! :) Good girl, have a cookie!

To **kawaii.meiko**: I know, you're still only at chapter 3 ... but I'm only able to thank you here ... as it came in this order with the reviews. Ah well! One day you'll read this (in twenty years or so XD) Yes, yes ... Sanada and Yukimura sure is good friends - not! So far, that is though. Well, I hope you enjoy it all - and God bless to you too! :) I like how you end everything with that! Cute with a catch-phrase!

Hehe, just figured I'd get started with some romance in this – honestly, it has been 24 chapters so far … and there hasn't been much lovey-dovey in the air! T.T Well … unless you can say Miku-Zen is something like that :) - Yack!

Ah well, I'm still thinking about who, she should end up with (so far), so please continue telling me who you prefer!

Niou: 1

Sanada: 2

Yukimura: 1 (plus my vote! XD)

Atobe: 1 (O.o I'm sort of with this one too)

That's it so far! So, if you want Nadjai to end up with whoever you like, then you'd better tell me as soon as possible! Or you'll miss the chance!

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

25 – Why Girls Just _Love_ Niou

Normal POV

"_Fujika Nadjai and Niou Masaharu to the principal's office, right _now!"

Every single head turned and stared at her. Nadjai laughed nervously, eye twitching drastically. Then she stood up with a sigh, sadly exchanging looks with her best friend in the seat next to her. "See ya!" Riku whispered to her, shaking her head.

Then the black-haired girl walked down the row of tables and chairs, not caring for all the _staring_ from her classmates. In stead she was trying to suppress the intend of murder, boiling inside of her. "What the heck did that bloody trickster do this time …?!" She cursed under her breath, wanting to cut off that annoying ponytail of his. She slammed the door after her, ignoring the shout from the teacher. She made her way down the hall, stopping at the staircase; waiting for the other to join her.

Shortly after, she spotted the spiky, silvery hair from down the hall, approaching quickly. Niou was grinning broad, as he noticed her fuming, leaning against the railing. "What have you done this time?!" She called out, sounding rather angry, when he was in hearing range.

Not even stopping, he continued up the stairs, and she followed. "Ah, nothing much." He said, smirking constantly. "You'll know when we get there."

She sighed again, rolling her eyes. "Ah …"

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" The principal mock asked, sitting in his comfy chair, arms crossed and watching them, as they entered the office.

"You really need to ask? It _was_ you, who called us up … honestly, asking who it is; are you stupid or something?" Nadjai retorted, having been ticked off by the trickster on the short trip up the stairs. Her mood was _really _bad at that time. "Stop asking questions you already know the answer too, idiot. And secondly, it's not _what_, it's _who _- we're persons, not things! And you work in a school?!"

Both of the children took a seat in front of the large desk, completely shutting out the principal (who was _really_ fuming at that time), once again arguing. Well, Nadjai was arguing; Niou merely chuckled and ticked her off further. "Ahem!" The man cleared his throat and they turned to face him.

"_What_?" She snapped. "Can't you see we're in the middle of something?!"

"…"

She stared at him, eyebrow raised. "… Hello?"

"…"

"Just great; we lost connection!"

"…"

"Honestly- …"

"Haha …"

"…"

"You know, Spiky-kun, your hair … is it real?"

"As real as anything."

"… I don't believe you."

"Want to check it?"

"How the heck do we do that?!"

"… You don't want to know."

"I guess I don't …"

"Heh …!"

_SLAM!_

Once again they stared at the principal, who had suddenly burst up, slamming his hands against the table. "Enough! Both of you, _shut up_-"

"That aint a way a principal should talk to his students-" She started off.

He send her a warning look. "I know it was you; who did it!"

"… Did what …?"

"Don't play innocent!"

"I'm not playing innocent – I _am_ innocent!"

"You- you painted a beard on the school's statue, didn't you?!"

"… Why the heck would we do that …"

She glanced onto Niou, who only continued smirking. "Why would you do _that_?" She mimed, sending him a questioning look. He merely shook his head, not answering her. "And anyways-" She turned her head back at the older man. "Is that really something to get _that_ mad about? It's just a _beard_; I could come up with _so_ many more things I could paint."

"…"

"Oh, like what?" Niou asked, now sounding interested.

She laughed slowly. "I don't want to mention it – too weird a picture in my mind."

"Heh, really? We should work on that idea of yours, some day."

"Yaa, that'd be great."

"… Out …"

"Huh, did you say something, Principal-san?"

"… Out …"

"Out where?"

"Just … get out …"

"Well, if you don't say out _where_, we can't go out, you know."

"Get the hell out of my office!"

And so, they found themselves on the other side of the (now locked) door, staring at the, forever doing nails, secretary. She glanced up at them slowly, but shortly after returned to her fingers and nail-polish. Nothing new to see … "I'll write a note about what you've done – today – and let the teacher hand it to you. The usual."

"Ah." Both of them replied, walking out. Nadjai waved back at her, but then turned her head towards the boy, just when a weird noise was heard over the speaker.

"_Bloody-!_"

"You turned on the speaker before we left, right?"

"Yup."

"Hm … Nice." They high-fived, but then split at the stairs once again. "Guess I'll be seeing you."

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

"Alright!" Iwasaki called out, motioning for the regulars to gather. Apparently, that day, when the two freshmen from class 1-1 had arrived for tennis practice (one more reluctant than the other), they had found the captain to be missing. Explanation: Kantou Tournament postponed – and therefore the two captains had to … argue a little with the people, holding the tournament. Well, not that anyone minded!

Nadjai hissed at her senpai, as Joruni ruffled up her hair. "I'm not a kid!" She muttered annoyed, yet still joining the others.

"Everyone here?" The vice-captain asked, scanning over the six other girls, checking. "Good to see you at practice, Nadjai-chan." She added, smiling at the _baby_ of the team.

"Oi? … if it weren't because you didn't call me Lumpy, I'd probably have killed you."

"Haha." She laughed, completely aware that she was serious. "It seems that the Kantou Tournament has been postponed for until after the weekend – I have no idea why, so don't ask – but that is only good! We have more time to practice!" Then she found a paper out from her pocket and unfolded it. "And as some of you may have noticed too; the captain is absent at the moment-"

"Woohoo!"

"-But she has still given orders to the practice of today-"

"Aw man?!"

"-and apparently, she has decided it along with the other captain …" She grimaced. "… Therefore we're going to play mixed doubles with the boys today."

"…" Everyone was silent.

"I WANT GEN-CHAN!"

… Nearby a certain cap-wearing person tensed, having sensed an evil aura out to get him …

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

Your POV

"And the matches will be:

Shinobu-Goro against Shioko-Kouta

Iwasaki-Yori against Kaito-Joruni

Yayoi-Genichirou against Tamafume-Renji."

At first, you stayed quiet, taking in all the facts, but then it dawned on you. "W-wait …" You stepped forward towards the two vice-captain. Then you pointed towards yourself, face completely blank. "What about me?"

Iwasaki smiled sadly at you. "Well, you're teamed up with Seiichi-kun, but we're a pair too much, so you'll have to wait and only watch." Your face dropped and your lower lip began trembling.

"I-I'm not going to play?!"

"No- well, not yet, but ye-"

"WAHH! I want to play!"

"Na-Nadjai, please don't cry! You'll be able to play in the next round." The third-year tried calming you. "Why don't you … go … err-" She exchanged a begging look with the other in-charge at that time.

Kaito, the boys' vice-captain, sighed and motioned for his left-over regular. The princess smiled as usual and walked over. "Yes, Buchou?" He asked sweetly – which means; _fear him!_

"Can't you take her away from here … Calm her?"

"Hai, hai." He then turned towards the sobbing you, who was clinging onto the other girl. "Come Nadjai, I'll … play with you." He found a ball from his pocket, waving it in front of your head. He chuckled, when your eyes followed it hungrily, tears evaporated. "Ne?"

"Uh … Gimme!"

And so you happily jumped after him, the rest of the regulars looking after the two of you, slightly worried about your mental state. "She really is a simpleton …"

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

"Fetch!"

Yukimura threw the ball, sending you running over the green grass after it. He was sitting on a bench, checking the strings on his racket, glancing after you once in a while, making sure you weren't setting something on fire – not that he cared, but ... Yet suddenly you were gone from his view and before he knew of it, you were sitting next to him, spinning the ball between your hands.

"Do you enjoy it – playing tennis, that is?" You asked, staring out into space.

At first he stayed silent, pondering about the question. Did he enjoy tennis? "Yeah …" He then answered, short and precisely. Yet there was hesitation in his voice.

"Huh …?" You mused, sighing. "Sometimes I don't …"

This caught his attention, making him turn his head and stare at you. "Sometimes you … don't? Why is that?"

You let out a deep sigh, once again, but then smiled at him. "Find it boring!" You told him, throwing the ball into the air, letting out a short laughter before catching it again. "I wonder why we actually find it interesting … hitting a little ball like this back and forth … and to think we do it for hours." You shook your head. "But it's probably because we devote so much of our time, wanting to accomplish something … then again, you create bonds. If I hadn't started tennis I'd never have met you …" You trailed off, staring into the clear, blue sky above you.

Yukimura tensed. Was this leading somewhere?

"… I really like you, do you know that?"

He prayed to God, that you were just talking randomly as usual … and you weren't somehow falling for him and was in the middle of a bizarre confession of your burning love. And God had answered … in a good way, luckily!

You let out a laugh. "Ha! I just saw where this was heading! But as if I'd ever see us as anything but friends!" You patted his shoulder, missing to see his relieved/_disappointed_ face.

Wait-! Disappointed?! His brow furrowed as he discussed the word _disappointed_ with himself. What was he disappointed about?! He wasn't … he glanced onto you … falling for you, was he?

"Oh?" A voice suddenly rang out behind them, making the purplish-haired boy snap out of it. "Am I interrupting something?"

"AH?!" You bolted up, turned and faced the trickster. "Don't you dare sneak up on me ever again – my heart nearly blew up!"

"_Blew up_, even?" He chuckled of your choice of words. "Well … just wanted to say, that the first matches has ended already, and you'll be able to play now." He shook his head at the two of you, wondering what had happened there. One of them was – as usual – acting like a complete idiot (guess who?), while the other was muttering _disappointed_ over and over again. "Weirdoes …" He thought, turned on his heel and walked back towards the courts. Suddenly, though, he felt an arm around his shoulders as you hung yourself onto him.

"You know … I like you too!"

The two boys tensed.

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

"Fujika, mind coming with us for a second?" A girl – seeming to be a second year – asked, tapping you on the shoulder. Taking a quick sip of your water, you glanced upwards unto her, eyebrow raised. Then you smiled, stuffed the bottle into your bag and stood up.

"Ah, sure!" You told her, beaming. "That's fine with me." And so you followed the girl and her two lackeys, unaware of their intentions ...

... You looked around in the small storage-room, wondering what you were doing there. But then you heard the lock click and you quickly turned that direction, only to find them blocking your path. _Eh? Am I getting …?! NO! They're after my bubblegum! I can't let them!_

… Wrong conclusion …

"Err- excuse me … but I don't think-"

"Cut it out, you know what we want!"

"I- no, I don't …"

"Yes!"

You suddenly felt a sharp pain just under your left shoulder. You cringed, stepping back and barely avoided the broom, as it got slung against you a second time. "I don't think- just for that little-" You rubbed the aching spot on your arm, wincing as you touched the place where the broom had made an impact.

"A little thing?!" She screeched at you. "_Little_?!"

"Jeez, woman, it's only bubblegum!"

"…" They stared. _Bubblegum?_

"W-what?! Bubblegum?! No-! It's-"

Now it was your turn to stare. Your eyes widened in disbelief. "Then … what is it? I don't have anything else you can steal …"

"We're not out to steal anything from you!" She said, having been completely dragged into your pace. "We want you to stay away from him!"

"… Huh?" You blinked confused. "Who's him?"

"Niou-sama!" All three girls cried out.

"… Ah!" You clapped your hands together, finally understanding. "Fan girls!" Suddenly your face softened and, without them having a clue as to how, you were hugging the leader. "There, there … I know how hard it must be … knowing he'll never look at you … being desperate, just wanting to be able to touch him …" You patted her head, not even noticing her burning with anger and humiliation. "I feel your pain, little one …"

"How- how dare you?!" She shouted, pushing you away quickly, as if you were contaminated. "Don't you try and set yourself into our place – you understand _nothing_ about our feelings!" She pointed a finger towards you, accusing. "You have no idea how it is to watch – how you just waltz in, getting close to all the regulars! Not only have you lured them into your trap, but also everyone else on the team! I know you did something to him, you witch – else there'd be no way, he'd like you!"

"Eh?" Your ears reacted to the last part she said. "Like? What do you mean by _like_?" You asked. "We're friends, in the same club … there's nothing going on! And I'm sure he'd talk with you too, if you just tried." _Since you're pretty cute and … he'd at least collect your number …_ "Well …" You pushed your way past her before she had time to react, reaching for the doorknob. Yet, _lucky_ as you were, a hand grabbed you, pulling back.

"We'll make sure; that you will never even think about getting close to him again!" She hissed, motioning for the broom-wielding one to get closer. You shut your eyes tight, expecting the hit – but … nothing ever came. You stayed silent, keeping your eyes closed, thinking they were messing with you. That never happened though …

You opened an eye, then both. The three girls stood frozen, staring at the person, holding onto the broom. "N-Niou-sama?" They stuttered.

"Ah? What's going on in here?" He asked, smirking as usual, yet his eyes were blazing with coldness. "Girls shouldn't fight … that's such a turn off." You coughed at his use of words. _T-turn off?!_ "Now, why don't you let her go? I doubt her captain would be very happy if she gets hurt, in the middle of Kantou …"

And so you felt the grip around your shoulder lift and you were set free. Glancing a single time on the three girls, all staring down onto the ground, you walked over towards the trickster. "How on Earth did you get in?!" You asked. "The door was locked!"

"… You do know there's more than one door, right?"

"…" Your eye twitched. "Ah …"

"Silly." He chuckled, walking out without looking back at the fan girls a single time. At first you only stared after him, but then you shook out of it and ran after him.

"Oi!" You called. "I'm not silly!" You slowed down as you had reached him again, falling into his pace. "I'm just unlucky, that's all …" You muttered, kicking up pebbles. "Anyways, how did you know I was there?"

"Secret." He mused, not looking down upon you.

"Oh." You said quietly. Then your mind wandered back onto what the girl had said earlier. You paused, looking upon your shoes. "You know … she said something really weird."

"She did?" He asked, amused raising his eyebrow. "What could that possible be?"

You laughed. "Hah … she said you liked me – how strange is that?!"

"What strange is there in that? Perhaps I _do_ like you."

Your eyes widened and your head snapped up. In disbelief, you watched as he started walking again. _Ba-thump! _You placed a hand over your heart, still staring after him. Then your mouth dropped and you glared at your chest.

"BA-THUMP?! WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU SKIPPING A BEAT FOR?!" You yelled at it. Niou chuckled, having heard it perfectly clear. "AND WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU LAUGHING ABOUT?!"

You ran after him, tackling him just before the courts.

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

**IHRHC**

Well, I guess there was _some_ romance in this? Am I right …?! Just a little, ne? :) I tried at least … heh … so, does anyone like anyone – or is there just so much strangeness in the air, that everyone go giggly at the wrong times?!

Hm? You'll never know … unless you read the next part too!

Remember reviewing! Make me happy – and I'll stuff the next episode with so much love that even the most love-hungering person will throw up! … or not … :)

Please review!

JA NE!


	26. Why Only Sanada Should Do Kendo

**Review Answers!**

Thank you to Moonlitelover, XXSakuranXX, kaito142, kawaii.meiko, meeghuanne009, shadowcat189, Rikkaifan

To **Moonlitelover**: That really is true - people NEVER think about the fan girls! Honestly - I'm sort of a fan girl too --diverts eyes-- well, when it comes to PoT, I guess we all are? XD And just because they love someone - a little past normal, but - still they aren't bad (most of the time). Thank you ... no stress at all! When people say that, guess what? STRESS! :) Hehe, don't worry, I'll keep it up! Got an exam tomorrow and on Thuesday, but I'll still keep it up! --superman pose--

To **XXSakuranXX**: Thank you very much for reviewing! :) Well, you're one of those (including me) who want her to end up with nearly everyone, huh? You know, that's just great too - then you'll probably be happy about whatever I decide to write! Well, your vote - or votes - has been counted! :)

To **kaito142**: Haha, I don't really understand those Muga things either, but don't worry! I'm planning on writing something about that in the later chapters - and then you might get an explanation to it! :) You don't want it to Yanagi or Jackal either? Honestly, I somehow don't think she would be compatible with those two either (perhaps not Yagyuu either, but ...) Yagyuu and Kirihara comes in time, don't worry! I can say as much as Kirihara makes his debute first - in second year. I'm afraid that the gentleman first comes in year three when he joins the tennis club :( I might pop him in randomly at a time though, if many would like that! We'll see! I like the per cents and all - real pro! XD And that you have 10 on Bunta too - my HERO! I think she'd be awesome with Bun-Bun! And you like to see Gen-chan flustered? Well, then you'll ENJOY this chapter - got something of _that_ into it! Yuki and Nadjai, two contradicting personalities ...? Hehe, well true - one got brains. The other ... --silence-- Ah ... Well, this was a long response! XD Well, it was a long review too! So thanks!

To **kawaii.meiko**: as usual, this is a response to chapter four ... XD And as usual, you'll come to this at a time I guess? Yup, yup - the power of plans spoken out loud ALWAYS works! :)

To **meeghuanne009**: Aw, don't worry! It's okay you didn't review! I know how it is - being banned. And if you DID get in and review then perhaps you'd be punished any further? So I'd rather have you skip one chapter and then come back to me faster! --runs through flower field together-- MY LOVE! :) And you go with them all! :) Hehe ...

To **shadowcat189**: Thanks for reviewing! :) Hehe, I like rabies too! ... how weird as that sounds ... And you're a Sanada fan, eh? Alright, your vote has been counted!

To **Rikkaifan**: hehe, well, it's alright!! :) Good luck with the exams! We'll suffer together then, eh? I got one in Danish tomorrow! T.T Ah well ... Doesn't matter - the grades doesn't count since I've already gotten into an "academy" where I wanted to! Go me! Well, once again luck to you! You'll do great I'm sure!

And now, let the story continue! - I doubt the characters like to be on stand-bye ... have you ever thought about that? What the do when nothing goes on?! Am I weird? Is the Earth ROUND?! ... just found out -.- Well, TA DA! --pulls curtains away--

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**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

26- Why Only Sanada Should Do Kendo

Normal POV

"_Genichirou-kun, would you please come out here?"_

_He looked up from the book he was reading, __wondering why his mother was calling him all of a sudden. "I'__m coming." He answered. He carefully folder the corner of the page, placed it on the bed-stand next to him and stood up. He made his way down the hall and followed the sound of noises, coming from the living-room. Once again his mind pondered; they normally didn't use the living-room very much, only when they had company. _Who could it be?

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"Wow, it really has been a long time since I was here!"

Sanada watched as the girl scurried across the floor, aiming for the bamboo-sticks, placed against the wall. She quickly picked one and, right away, started slinging it through the air. He rolled his eyes inwardly, knowing that soon or later she'd knock herself out. And …

_Smack!_

Her eye twitched, as she suddenly started a glaring-contest against … a stick. "You did that on purpose …" She hissed at it, about to crush it completely.

"… You never change, do you?"

She looked up. "Huh?"

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"_Genichirou, this is Nadjai-chan."_

_His mother had introduced him to her for the first time. __She was sitting on the ground, eyeing a small bowl of chocolate, which had been placed on the table a few seconds before. "Ah …" He started off, not knowing what to say. It was only him, his mother and the girl._

"_She's the daughter of one of my classmates from high-school."__ His mother told him, gliding the bowl over the table to the girl. Greedily she picked one (or five?!) up and stuffed it into her mouth. And it was finally there, she looked up at him._

"_Hi!"_

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"What do you mean? I never change?! Are you saying I'm _short_?!"

_How come she always jumped to the wrong conclusions?_ He shook his head slowly, taking of his hat (wow, huh?) in respect of the dojo. Then he walked over to her, prying the _shinai _out of her hands. "I'd better take this before you kill yourself - and I ment you were brainless as always."

"… My, my, talking a lot today? And even being sarcastic?" She retorted, annoyed staring at the stick in his hands – she wasn't through with it just yet, wait and see! But then she once again returned to her hyped up mood. "Ah!" She picked up another, pointing it towards him. "Let's have a match! Just like in the good old days!"

He sighed.

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"_What's this?"_

_She was standing with the weapon in hand, twirling it around, taking it in from all sides – even though it looked the same from all … "It's a shinai."_

"_Oh …" She said, nodding. "… What's that?"_

"That _is what you use for kendo practice – a training sword."_

_Before he knew off it, she was out of sight, running around the dojo, picking up _everything. _If it wasn't against his personality, he would have hit her already … Why on Earth did his mother give _him_ the baby-sitting job?! Like he didn't have better things to do! "What's this then?" She asked, holding up what seemed to be a helmet._

"_That's called _Men_." He watched as she put it on – or tried._

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He honestly couldn't come up with why he had been able to withstand that girl for seven years now – he couldn't.

Sanada watched as she put on the _armour_, preparing for the upcoming battle, while he had been finished for ages now. In the end he decided to interfere, as she was putting on the gauntlets on her feet. "Idiot." He merely stated, walking over. Taking – or snapping – them away from her, he grabbed her wrist and put them on. "There …"

Nadjai laughed slowly, scratching her head. "Maa …" She grimaced and managed to put the other on herself. "I'm not a kid, Gen-chan!" She whined. Even though he easily could have argued, he stayed silent – much to her annoyance, as she knew what he was thinking. "… I love you too …"

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"_Oi, guys, look at this!"__ Four guys lined up around the girl, who was sitting on the ground and strapping on the body for protection. "A girl doing kendo?" The one who was speaking kneeled down in front of her, giving her a look of disgust. Nadjai only stared directly back, completely unaware of everything. "Are you sure you haven't gotten into the wrong place – ballet practice aint held here."_

_She blinked confused. _Ballet?_ "… Why would I do ballet? I'd just break a leg or something-"_

"_-and here you'll be bullied by the big, bad guys."_

"… _I thought it was the big, bad wolf … must be a version I haven't heard before."_

"…"

_The girl got onto her feet__ and the boy followed close by. She picked up the blade and placed it against her shoulder, continuing with looking onto the four. "Well, excuse me!" She smiled and walked past them, completely ignoring them. "Sensei!" She called out to an elderly man, standing near the entrance._

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_Bock!_

"Men …" Sanada said, having hit on top of her head. "My win."

Nadjai sighed, sinking to the ground – already out of breath. "No fair … you could at least have a handicap!" She whined, taking of the helmet to get air.

"… I did."

"_Eh?!_ No way!"

"I didn't move my feet a single time."

_Silence …_

"Oh." Then she pointed a finger towards him, accusing. "Well, it was still not enough handicap! You should have your hands tied to your back … or- blindfolded!"

"That's not a handicap … that's suicide – when playing you, that is."

"… What the heck do you mean by that?!"

"…"

"Not the silence-treatment …!"

"…"

"… I love you too …"

"Shut up."

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"_Hey, little girl!"_

_In the end she had started getting _really_ tired of those guys. Okay, she could take the ballet/kendo references, but … when they started poking her with her height, then they really were asking for it!_ "WHAT?!"_ She snapped, turning around, kendo-sword raised to beat the hell out of them._

_There they stood, the _leader_ – being the one doing all the talking – dressed in the _bōgu_-set. "Let's settle this." He said, glaring at her as usual. Nadjai sighed and picked her gauntlets, following him onto the floor, knowing she couldn't argue._

"_Hai, hai …"_

_Both of the two bowed to each other in respect(?) and then prepared themselve__s. Nadjai stood completely still, trying to focus. _Why me?_ She wondered, gripping harder around the wood._

_Then he attacked …_

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"Oh, Nadjai-chan, I didn't know you were visiting today!"

"Hello, Sanada-san." She bowed to her friend's mother. "Sorry if I am of any inconvenience to you, but I forced Gen-chan to bring me here!" How she could just feel Sanada glaring at her. Honestly, just because it had been ages since she had been there the last time …

"There is no problem at all, it's nice having you here!" She led the girl inside, closing the door after them. "How is school coming along?"

Nadjai smiled at the other with _love_. _This_ was what a real family should be like! When having guests you didn't ask; how's the love-life coming along – no! School! Thank God! Well … not that she could answer that positively, but still! "Ah … it goes as usual …"

"Still lowest in the class, I see?"

"Rather the entire school …" She muttered, entering the living-room.

The other laughed, while leaving to prepare tea.

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Thud!

_The nine-year old landed on the ground, having the __other's sword pointed towards her. "Seems like it's my win." The boy drawled, not pulling it back, but kept on pressing her down. Nadjai winced behind the helmet, as she moved a little too much for her beaten arms. Even though he had started off with hitting her head – which normally ended the match – he had continued attacking. In the end she wasn't even able to stand. "So now you know; kendo is _nothing_ for girls. You should leave."_

_She bowed her head, keeping back a retort – she just didn't have the energy. __And … maybe he was ri-?_

"Why don't _you_ leave?"

_She didn't know when, but suddenly everyone had stepped back and fell silent. __Nadjai slowly raised her head, only to find the boy from earlier on the ground. He was staring up, rubbing his arm. She followed the direction of his eyes and saw … Gen-chan._

"_Huh?" She whispered, wondering why he had interfered. Normally he was just cold towards her, not caring what was going on. And now he was … defending her?! _Boys! What can you do?!_ … the most random people …_

"S-Sana-!"

"_This is not the way of__ kendo." He started off._

_Nadjai stared at him in awe – actual stars in her eyes. The aura he was admitting. How he defended the weak- weak and weak, but … well … And how he held everyone's attention! _Her hero!

_Poor Sanada should never have saved her …_

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"_Why are you following me?" He asked with a sigh, not even bothering to turn and look – he already knew what he would see. __Nadjai, being the person hiding behind the house, tensed and – hesitant – moved out from her hiding. She walked over and avoided eye contact._

"_A-ah …__ Well …" She fidgeted with a strand of her hair, looking at everything else but him. "It's just … when you saved me …" Here she was, trying to explain it all and he did _nothing_ to help her at all – he was just _staring_! "It's that …" The look she suddenly gave him, made (the all-mighty) Sanada step back. Sparkling eyes weren't really his spatiality dealing with. "I think I'm in love with you!"_

_And that was …_

… _More, than he needed to know …_

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Your POV

"I remember when you suddenly came one day, telling that you'd quit kendo." His mother said, sipping to the still warm tea, nodding slowly. "Genichirou was really heartbroken!"

Both of you decided to stay _completely _silent. Well, it was true she didn't start off with asking about the love-life, but she certainly had a way of tuning over onto it. The two of you rather wanted to forget the fact you had been sweethearts when younger. You laughed slowly, but other than that kept quiet, directing your attention towards the cup.

"He didn't eat for days!"

Your eyebrow was the first on Pluto at that time, as you stared at your friend. _That_ was new. He merely stared out ahead of himself, shutting out them all – or trying to at least.

"But you probably had your reasons!"

At this, the two of you tensed right away – well, not right away for you, as you just had to choke in the tea before that. You coughed, trying to get the hot water out of your lungs. Sanada rolled his eyes and clapped your back. "Ah … t-thanks …" You said, trying to regain the air. _Hot …!_

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Normal POV

_Ten years. __Who could possible believe that she was _ten_?! First of all, she was acting like a five-year old and the height? Let's not get into that discussion again … Sanada watched as she unwrapped a package from her mother with one hand, while with the other eating cake – well, at least she was able to multitask … __He glanced down into the small gift in his hand, clutching it. Should or shouldn't?__ Before he had any chance of arguing with himself any further a voice called out to him. "Gen-chan, hurry up!" He looked up at her smiling face, shuffling the present into his pocket. Then he walked over slowly, avoiding all the grown-ups, seeing nothing around them – and he was _tall_ for his age too!_

"_Look what I got!__ Ain't I lucky?!" She said, holding up a pink rabbit. She glanced sideways onto it and grimaced, but then she whispered to him: "I _really_ don't like pink …"_

_Within the split-second, where he had decided to give it to her, __some _granny_ or whatever had snatched her away. He watched as she unwillingly got dragged away to only God knows where – probably to get her cheeks pinched. "What a cute child!" Was the last part he heard … along with her screams of mercy, that is._

"_Aha …"__ He sighed, taking his hand out of the pocket again, where he had hold onto the gift – seemed like he had to wait, again. He stared at the rabbit, which was staring directly back at him with the lifeless eyes. "Seems like we got dumped, both of us …"_

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"_Come on, I know you want to stay longer, but we got to go." His mother called from the car, where __she was talking with Nadjai's parents – who seemed to have gotten a little _too_ much to drink. He rolled his eyes – adults … But then his attention got directed towards her once again. She was in the middle of rubbing sleep out of her eyes, but none the less looked happy about the day._

"_Bye-bye, Gen-chan__." She said, tightening her grip around the rabbit, who somehow had gotten on her good sides (after having knocked out her annoying cousin – somehow). "See you in school on Monday!" Pressing a hand against her mouth, suppressing a yawn, she – as lightning from a clear sky – hugged him. "Thank you for today!"_

_He sighed__ silently and slid the present into her pocket, not having the guts to give it to her any longer. She'd discover it sooner or later. "Ah, you're welcome." Then she reluctantly let go and watched him walk to the car. But he suddenly came to a halt and turned towards her. "Happy birthday."_

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Your POV

"Thank you for today, Sanada-san!" You bowed, standing at the door about to leave. "I'm glad you had time for my visit." His mother smiled at you, going with the _no problem_, _I'm glad too_ and so on. Then she walked inside, leaving you and Sanada alone. You smiled at him. "Thank you too, for actually letting me into your house!" You grinned, knowing he was scared you'd have burned it down or something.

"No problem …" He said, sounding as not-caring as usual – but you knew better! And as always apparently, you hugged him with no warning at all. Then, just before you turned to leave, you slid something into his hand.

"See you in school tomorrow!"

He watched you leave, but then he glanced onto the _thing_ in his hand. The last rays of sunlight hit it and reflected in the silver. You had really kept it, all this time …?

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Normal POV

"_Nadjai, if you don't come down with your laundry right _NOW_, you can do it yourself from now on!" Her mother called, in the middle of her usual cleaning-mania. Nadjai, knowing she wasn't only using empty threats hurried with collection all the clothes; having been thrown around the room._

"_Coming!" She y__elled back, as a roar was heard. "Jeez, chill out, woman …" She muttered. But then, as she picked up the dress she had worn on her birthday, something fell out and landed on the floor with a _clack! _She looked down upon it, confused, wondering where it had come from. Had she actually _forgotten _a _present?!_ But before she was able to pick it up, another explosion was heard as her mother's temper had snapped._

_She decided to leave the present to un__til after the laundry was done …_

… _She picked it up while plopping down into the bed. She twirled it around in her hands, looking for a name. Yet there was none. "Where did you come from?" She wondered. But letting wondering be wondering, she quickly ripped off the wrappings to find a little, black box._

_She __struggled with opening it for a couple of minutes, until her anger overflowed and the teeth got into use. _Click!_ It opened to reveal a silver heart, split in two. On one of them stood _B_, while on the other _F_. "BF?" She wondered, trying to break the _code_. "…" In the end she decided to wear them, thinking about the code on the way. She found a small chain from her mother's drawer (life at risk if discovered) and slid both of them on – until she had found someone to share it with!_

_At the dinner-table later that evening, it suddenly hit her, making her mother screech and fall from the chair …_

"Best Friends!"

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_He stopped, dead in his tracks. __He was seeing things! Perhaps he hadn't gotten enough fluids that day. Yes- he was dehydrating! She wasn't … But then her voice rang out, and he knew …_

"_A-a- well, this-"_

_To make matters worse, she handed one of the two half to him. Not just anyone – his _worst _enemy from the dojo. Was she secretly having a crush on him?! That guy? How he wanted to run over and snatch it away from his filthy hands, but … If she knew he was watching – and if he did _that_ – she'd hate him. He knew …_

_He turned on his heel and left right away, wanting to forget it all. _

_Denial always works!_

_Nadjai thanked the other, giving him a little smile. "I'm grateful you'll give it to him …" She laughed nervously, fumbling with the other half around her neck. "… I'm just too cowardly to give it to him myself."_

"_Don't worry, I'll handle it." The other reassured her, inwardly chuckling about _the joy of being young!

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"_Do you like him?" __He asked one day, not able to keep it in any longer. Not when she was watching him from the corner of her eye, while they were supposed to practice._

"_Huh? Like who?" She asked, completely unaware of what he was talking about. She looked around too, wondering if someone else was standing near them. He couldn't be talking about her, could he? But when she saw him staring directly at her … he was._

"_Him." He only stated, answering her question. __He pointed towards the other boy._

"…" _At first she stayed silent, pondering about the question. "Is this a trick question?"__ She then came to a conclusion._

"_No, I'm asking, if you like him or not."_

"_Why are you asking anyways?" She somehow felt like going into defensive mode. What kind of question was that anyways? All of a sudden! "First of all, it's none of your business even if I _did_ like him!"_

"_So you do?"_

"_I haven't said that!"_

"_But you were thinking it."_

"_NO, I wasn't!"_

_Then suddenly he turned silent, making Nadjai wonder even further – but still too mad and annoyed to __go too into depth about it. Sanada though was rather busy deciding to bring it up or not. In the end … he did. "I saw you give him the necklace." Her eyes widened and stared at him._

"_Y-you did?!"_

_He __said nothing further, only watching her – expecting an explanation._

"_W-well … you see … it's not like- not like you think!"_

"_When a girl gives a boy something, doesn't it normally mean she likes him?"_

"… _Y-yeah, but-"_

"_So you do like him."_

"_W- How did you suddenly get to that again?!" She snapped._

"_You know what, I really don't think kendo is somethin__g for girls." He suddenly said, wanting to hurt her. And he knew, making her hear it from _him_ was the worst. Even though everyone else had said that the last five years, he had always been there – having nothing against practicing with a girl. But … Tears welled in her eyes and, before any of them had a clue as to how, she slapped him hard and ran out of the dojo._

_Everyone else was silent, either staring after the crying girl, who fell in the middle of her dramatic departure, or the boy, still wondering about what had hit him – even though a really red hand told it _all_. "What- …?"_

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"_Genichirou, did something happen between you and Nadjai-chan?"__ Of course nothing got past his mother – not when it involved gossiping or _Orlando Bloom _(no comments!). He sighed and closed the book, still not having gotten through it these five years._

"_No …" He said__ with no emotion in his voice at all._

"_Then why has she just been here, handing in her resignation." At this he froze. She had quit? Quit kendo? He had no idea, that she would take it this far … maybe sulk for a couple of days, throw __darts at his picture (or him) … but quit?_

"I_- I don't know." Yet he still did _not_ want to talk about it with his mother – no one at all. "Perhaps she didn't like it any longer … it's not something for a girl anyways!"_

"… _did you say that to her?"_

"…" _He bit down into his lower lip. "__… Yes …"_

_She sighed. "Ah …" She ruffled his hair__ and left, but not before coming with a last comment. "I'll talk with her mother, okay?"_

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"_She asked me to give this to you." He said, handing over the heart to the other boy. "I know what happened between you two … and, I know you probably don't want to hear anything I say, but nothing was ever going on between us." Sanada slowly took it in his hand and looked down upon it, listening to the other. "She was just too shy to give it herself … so … - and I'm not into _that_ short girls ..."_

_He shrugged, not knowing what else to say. In the end he left, leaving the other to think. __Sanada sighed. What had he done?_

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Bock!

Bock!

Bock!

_The sound of tennis balls could be heard from the school's team. __Sanada sighed and pulled the cap further down, hiding his eyes. This was it. He pulled the bag further over his shoulder, as it was about to slid down. Then he walked for the courts._

"_Yes?" The captain stared down at him__, not really seeming to care about him. "What is it?"_

"_I'd l__ike to join the team." He said, staring directly back._

"_Oh? Fine, sign up at the coach's office."_

_And so he had entered their school's team, only in the hopes of becoming friends again …_

… _the two looked at each other through the net._

"_What are you doing here?" She asked; voice cold. She slung the racket over her shoulder, wanting to leave._

"_I want to apologize."_

"_Oh? That's new." Not wanting to listen to any more of it, she turned to leave._

"_Wait!" He said. She clenched her hands and turned once again. __Only to find it dangling from his hand … the silver half-heart in a chain. "I'm sorry – I didn't know it was for me …" Her eyes were fixed on it, once again sadness filling her. "… I got jealous, I'm sorry."_

"…" _Her eye twitched. "Honestly …" She started off, snatching it from his hand. "… how- HOW THE HECK COULD YOU POSSIBLE THINK I'D FALL FOR A GUY LIKE _THAT_?!"_

_Everything was back to normal._

… _As normal as things now could get …_

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Your POV

"You know, Nadjai-"

"Jai." You corrected her, taking a sip from your juice.

"_Jai_, why did you quit kendo?" Riku asked one day at lunch. All the _famous_ freshmen from the tennis clubs gathered. Both you and Sanada tensed, both only one showed it. But then, fumbling with the chain around your neck, you laughed.

"Well … it brings back embarrassing memories."

"Oh?" Niou said, leaning closer. "_What_ embarrassing memories."

"Well …" Once again you fell silent, making _everyone_ lean in closer, wanting to hear it – except Sanada, who knew the outcome.

"Yeah?"

"… My crush on Gen-chan."

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**IHRHC!**

Well … That was Nadjai and Sanada's relationship … at sorts. At least how the met and stuff like that. I think he might have been a little OOC, but then again, he was younger! He was five, nine and then ten in the end :) And people change!

But … I also think it wasn't as _fun_ as the other parts – no one got killed or anything. Though I just wanted to write a part about their time together. And oh ho?! Seems like they had a crush on each other – or _had_? Perhaps they still do?! XD Well … depends on the voting going on! I'm still counting who everyone prefer!

Here's the score counting so far!

Niou: 1

Sanada: 4

Yukimura: 4

Atobe: 2

Bunta: 1

So far it's the princess and the cap competing about first place – followed by Atobe … don't ask me why, but he just got in here too! And hey! It might work! :)

Yet, if you don't want it to be any of them, then you'd better vote! You can do so through reviewing!

Oh, and even though you have already voted you can do it again! Each review count as a vote! (just because I want as many reviews as possible, but … heh …)

Please review!

JA NE!


	27. Why Yukimura got a Girlfriend

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**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

27 – Why Yukimura got a Girlfriend

Normal POV

How she just wanted to rip them all into pieces … whenever she and Sanada was within _miles_ of each other, they got the STARES! Okay, so what? She had confessed her crush on him, but that was _long_ ago! AGES! Honestly …!

The only person, who didn't stare, was Riku. Of course she was a little busy … being in coma after the shock …

"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!"

"Oh shut up …"

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"You … honestly look like a girl …" Nadjai stated, as they were on their way to the (continued) Kantou Tournament. The princess continued with smiling, but somehow the girl got the urge to run away screaming at that time. He opened his mouth, about to retort (probably something involving lots of pain), but got interrupted by a couple of fluffy _things_ stuck in between them.

"No lovers' quarrel here, thank you!" Riku mused, still going on about the two together – as a _couple_.

"Riku …" Nadjai started off, massaging her temples, annoyed – _real_ annoyed!

"Ah?"

"Run …"

"Huh?"

"RUN BEFORE I KILL YOU!"

Yukimura watched the two of them at first, but then decided it was nothing new … completely normal to have someone strangled in the back of the bus … right … In stead he looked out the window, seeing himself in the reflection. Girl, eh?

"You two, **stop killing each other!**" As expected … the captain snapped, joining the two girls.

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"O-oi … look at that!" Someone whispered, as they all stepped out of the bus – well … some got carried out, but- … "It's Rikkai …" The two first descending from the bus was the captains, both smiling angelic smiles as usual(?), closely followed by the two most _sane _people on the team – the demons' right hands – discussing what to do if things went wrong … as usual.

"Is it just me, or do they look weaker than last year?" Someone else muttered, yet loud enough for them all to hear. Nadjai, being dragged out, glared at the person, trying to pry herself loose from the double 1 girls' clutches. "I've heard nearly half of them playing the last matches were freshmen."

"Who's weak …?" She growled, crossing her arms across her chest. "I could beat them in more than one way – and doesn't it just _prove_ we're good? Sending in freshmen?!"

"Haha … Don't worry, Lumpy, they're just jealous of us." Joruni said, chuckling as always.

"Who the heck would be jealous of you? Miss Reserve." The freshman shot back, annoyed beyond reasoning. "Well, true enough- _everyone_ is jealous of _me_! I _am_ the best member of this team and the smartest-" While she continued with her rambling, everyone else exchanged looks. _Smartest?_

"You know …" Joruni started off. "I've always wondered; what's your grades?"

Silence …

"Grades?"

"Yeah, in school."

"… No comment?"

"The teacher doesn't give her grades." Her classmate stated from behind the two, walking side by side with the princess. "They don't want to make her cry. Ne, Seiichi?"

"Ah …" He said slowly, not bothering to get involved – they'd sort it out sooner or later … probably later; after the blood bath; that is …

"Well-!" Nadjai snapped at them. "At least I'm not obsessed with other people's affairs! Miss wannabe match-maker!" Her eye twitched and then pointed towards the other. "And you – at least I don't look like someone from the opposite gender!"

At first everyone was silent – actually continuing walking: Nothing to see! But then Riku had translated her insult. "OI! I don't care if you insult me, but if you insult your soon-to-be husband-"

"… Huh …?"

"-then I get mad!" She paused, thinking it over. "Actually, scratch that! I do get mad when you insult _me_, screw him!"

"… Thanks …"

"**Save the anger until destroying the opponents!**"The captain roared from the front of the players, scaring the audience. The people, who – without knowing it – had started all the trouble, looked pretty much freaked out. Forget what they had said – _Rikkai Dai was as scary as always!_

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

"So … who are we up against?" Iwasaki asked, carefully glancing over the captain's shoulder. The last mentioned eyed her shortly, but then returned to the paper in hand. Iwasaki backed off again … Captain's paper; got it!

"Well … we have to wait until those two loser-teams have finished off each other, then we'll play whoever wins." She said, tapping two names on the line-up. "Too bad nearly all the teams have somehow gotten food poison." Well … she had gotten the voice right – total pitying – but … the smirk? … Definitely needed work on that one. "Only all the bad ones are left – them and, of course, us."

"… Buchou … did you poison their lunch or something?" The vice-captain asked, backing off without knowing.

"…" She received no answer; only that the smirk widened. _She did_ …

"YOU DID?!" Everyone exclaimed, dumping their own subject to in stead stare at her – even Nadjai and Riku stopped killing each other.

"Well, we can always go watch the boys; they have a match pretty much around now I think." Miku continued walking away, ignoring her now freaked out members – more than they used to be, that is. "And it wasn't their lunch; I snuck into their homes and poisoned their _breakfast_."

Everyone sighed in relief. "Oh, their breakfast-"

… Collective sigh instert here …

"-THAT'S JUST WRONG!"

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

"Seiichi-kun; I've brought your water bottle!"

_Snap!_

Every single head from Rikkai Dai turned and stared. _What_ was a really, cute girl voice doing, calling out to the _Princess of Rikkai Dai_; without caring for the wrath of a million fan girls?

There she stood; waving _cutely_ at the purple haired boy with one hand, while holding up a bottle with the other. Yukimura smiled as always and glanced towards the rest. Then he started walking up the stairs, by the audience, towards her. Everyone focused all their might on the two, trying to hear the conversation going on. Yet, they were unable to hear and had to stick with the movements.

"Who is that …?" Niou half-smirked; half-gaped (try doing that …), craning his neck to get a better look.

"Who knows." Renji answered; yet actually seemed troubled … this was not a part of his data! _Yet!_ "But I think it might be … his girlfriend."

"…"

"EEHHH?!" Two girls exclaimed, one tripping over the other. Two seconds later; they were lying on the group. "GIRLFRIEND?!" And then … passed out.

"Well, that was some shock for them, huh?" Marui chuckled, poking Riku with a foot. "But honestly," he said, turning to face Renji again. "I don't think that she's Yukimura's girlfriend …"

Shortly after the girl had found a seat among the audience; while Yukimura made his way back to the others. At first he tried to ignore the constant stares from all the freshmen and in stead focused on the two unconscious girls still on the ground, as no one had bothered to move them.

But of course their staring continued, not bothering to concentrate at the soon-to-start match (even though a certain captain was glaring); and so he turned. "Is something wrong?" He smiled, yet ticked off deeply.

Everyone stayed quiet.

"And why are both Nadjai and Riku unconscious – again?" The Princess asked, waving his hand back at the two.

They still continued with the silence-treatment; only the howling wind and the cheering of the crowd were heard. But then someone finally decided to break the tense silence. "They're just a little curious about your so-called _girlfriend_ up there." The captain said, making his way past the boys, towards the purple haired one. "Not that I care, but I couldn't keep overhearing; and so I thought I'd join in on the fun." His eyes darkened - so much for the fun? "Also because _this_ is keeping my players – who should have been on the court minutes ago – from _playing_, as _players_ now should." He smiled innocently, making everyone get back to warming up. "You, of course, need to warm up even more; since _you'_re the first to play."

"Hai hai."

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

She sighed. "Do I even want to know _why_ she is unconscious?" A voice asked behind them. Miku's eye twitched drastically, as she had returned to fetch her regulars (she had been busy provoking the opponents as usual) and find her ace knocked out. With a foot she poked the girl on the ground annoyed, sighing. "What a bother …" She muttered, eyes scanning over the four players on court. "How's it coming along?" She then decided to ask.

Zen shrugged, watching them too. "As usual … Winning. And don't ask me about the mutt on the ground … I was _not_ involved – this time."

"Oh?"

She then decided to find the culprit and she looked over the non-playing team members, who were all trying to _not_ look her way.

"Then who could it be, I wonder ...?"

As no one else dared answering – guess why? – she decided to drop the subject (so far) and in stead clapped her hands together. "Gather up girls!" She called out to the female regulars; thinking they'd better get to their match. "**Now, thank you! **Before I break something …" Her voice turned into a mutter, as they all rushed over. She turned on her heel and started walking, yet not before ordering two of them to pick up their freshman. "Get the no-brainer, would you?"

"Err … Captain … which?" Joruni asked, looking from Nadjai to Riku.

"**WHO DO YOU THINK?!**"

"… She did break something …" Iwasaki sighed and slopped after her captain. "And Joruni … _Lumpy _perhaps?"

"Ah!" The reserve nodded, picking the girl up easily. Then she happily followed the others. "Why didn't you just say that?"

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

"Mhm … sorry to ask, Seiichi … but isn't your school a little … odd?"

The princess chuckled, yet not able to hide the vein about to pop at his temple. "Oh, I don't see why you think so." Well, perhaps the fact that six guys were all watching their conversation intensely – one of them scribbling it down with lightning speed – and an elder boy glaring at them from afar. _That_ might have been a reason or two … "Don't worry about them …" He smiled angelic, yet his friends felt the icy aura shooting out from him. "Of course I'd make them regret ever _watching_."

"Aw …" Niou decided to _not_ think of the threats – even though he probably was dead serious – and walked closer. "We just want to be introduced to this lovely lady-" He winked at her.

"Honestly …" Yukimura sighed. "I _so _hope you're not hitting on my sister."

The trickster chuckled once again. "Of course no- Eh? Sister?"

"SISTER?!" They all exclaimed, finally understanding.

Bunta stared. "T-that is your sister?"

"Yes …"

"But- but-!"

"What _exactly_ did you think she was?"

"But- she doesn't even look like you!" He exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger towards the absolutely CLUELESS girl.

"No, I agree-" Niou said, _also_ being shocked. "She's so _girly_-"

They paused.

"Oh, that's right …"

"… you look like a girl too …"

"… Why thank you …"

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

"So, tell me …" Nadjai slowly started off, glancing onto the captain next to you. "_Why_ on Earth are we being … PAIRED TOGETHER?!"

And yes, this was no dream world – or nightmare? – no, not at all. She was _really_ standing on the court at the same time as the captain. She was playing doubles with her? HER! The devil of all … the one who had within a few weeks brought so much torment and pain into her life …

_WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE WORLD?! _She screamed in her mind.

She sighed. "You made a deal with the other captain?" She then asked, already knowing the answer.

"Sure did." Miku answered, checking her racket's strings, so that they wouldn't suddenly snap in the middle of the game and pop someone's eye. "You see …" She smiled sweetly at the two opponents, who entered court. "Our friends over there aint that strong in singles, so when I proposed from us to finish it quickly and return home and all … You know, their strongest against our little, cute ace, they declined."

"And so you suggested their best doubles pair against …"

"_Us_, yes."

"Isn't that just great …" Nadjai muttered and stood at her rightful place; after having shook hands with the opponents. Opponents who looked quite confident, I might add? "This is going to end bad … I just know it."

"0-0, Johei's serve."

Trying to think positive about it all – good luck I just say … - Nadjai prepared herself for the serve. "Don't mess up!" Came the captain's _cheering_ from behind, just as she was about to hit the ball …

In stead she missed it completely …

Oh yes, this was going to end _so _bad …

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

"**You call that hitting a ball properly?!**"

"Wow, their buchou seem to be in a good mood …" Niou chuckled, as the male regulars were making their way over to the girls. Their own opponents? Crushed …

Yukimura was slightly ticked off by the constant insults from the others, but didn't show it further. In stead he glanced down onto his little sister, who apparently was really scared and clinging onto his arm. "What- what w-was that?" She whispered. "It sounded like something from the dark pits …"

Bunta nearly chocked on his bubblegum. "T-that sounds right enough!" He half-coughed, half-laughed. "_From the dark pits_ … Splendid!"

"**What on Earth is the matter with you?!**"

"WITH ME?! It's you who continue with stressing me out!"

"**Me?! You can't hit the ball – how is that my problem?!**"

"Don't blame me!"

"Seems like Nadjai is taking up the fight …?" Yukimura chuckled too, as they got closer and closer to the courts. "I wonder who will win …"

"As if we don't know already." Sanada retorted, speaking for the first time that day.

They all fell silent, then … "The captain …"

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

_Bock!_

"O-oi!" Nadjai turned around. "You did that on purpose!" She pointed a finger at the older girl. "You _hit _me on the head, didn't you?!"

Miku only watched the ball roll of, not bothering to answer. But as the other continued glaring, she slowly looked up … only to get met by a racket being slung her way.

_Bock!_

"What the …?"

The audience, players and even the referee was too shocked to do a single thing. At first the youngest of the two was just staring, but then it dawned on her. "I … I hit … the captain?"

"You certainly did." Her eyes met the other's and she was so close to running of at that time. "I take it that you wish to die?" If it wasn't because she was frozen in shock to the ground, she would have chosen to run off, change names and move to another country … or another planet.

"Well- I … err … it … you know … but …"

"Yes?"

"… That … accident!" She bowed down, apologizing. "I'm sorry, buchou!"

"Sure, that'll help my sour head."

"But … I'm really, really sorry … It's just that you continued racking down on me whenever I had to concentrate. And first of all I CAN'T concentrate – EVER!" She cried out, still staring down onto the ground. "Sorry …!"

Miku merely stared. "Are you crying …?"

"No … I just got a fly in both my eyes …"

"… You sure?"

"Actually I think it was an airplane …"

"…"

"Or-"

"Can't we just beat them already?"

"HAI!" Suddenly they were all _buddies!_ again and merrily running off into the sunset. Everyone else continued staring.

"Who's the no-brainer next to the demon, big brother?"

"A mutated goldfish I think."

The rest of the freshmen looked from one conversation to another. From the crying and laughing couple on the court; to the sibling-pair; suddenly discussing genetic mutations.

"…"

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

After having gotten through the couple therapy the match had gone so much smoother. Nadjai managed to hit the ball; and Miku managed to not yell at her every second – she cut it down to every _two _seconds ...

Too bad for the other pair; as they now met the full strength of Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku; head on. It soon ended … 2-6. "You know, captain, this is the second time I've played a real doubles match … how did I do?"

"You absolutely sucked." She stated and walked off.

Nadjai stood, gaping as a goldfish, looking after the other. "… okay!" She slowly nodded. "It's better than completely sucked, isn't it?"

"No." Came her reply from somewhere among the crowd, wanting to congratulate her.

"Aha …" Nadjai then walked over to the other freshmen and tried shaking off the insult. "Hi, you guys!"

Riku, finally having returned to her senses, hugged her _very_ good friend close. "I'm so proud of you!"

"Err … why?"

"You survived being close to the captain for thirty minutes!"

"…" Then her eyes fell upon her classmate's dirty clothes. "Have you been unconscious or something? You're all dusty." She slowly wiped some grey stuff of the other's shoulder.

Riku laughed out loud. "You have too, don't you remember?"

"Eh? I have-" She slowly trailed off … And …

_Ding!_

"Yukimura'sgot a girlfriend!" She then exclaimed.

She turned her head and looked at the _couple_. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Well …"

"It's so not fair! You're mean, you know that?! I'm your friend and you don't even tell me, you have found someone who's very dear to your heart?" And of course she hyperventilated. "I bet I'm not even invited to your wedding!"

"Nadjai …"

"You'll name one of your children after me, won't you? Right? Right?!"

"… She's not my girlfriend. She's my sister."

"Huh?" She stared, completely not getting anything of what was going on anymore … confusing herself? "B-but-" And then she fainted.

"Too much for her?"

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

Your POV

"Oh my head …" You muttered slowly, trying to sit up, even though your head was spinning like crazy. You were able to make out your best friend next to you, even though the blur was making it all a little … blurry. "Man … Riku, I had this weird dream. You know, the Princess had a girlfriend, but then he suddenly confessed that she wasn't … but in stead his sister … total insect, right? I really can't believe him … I thought he was a good guy …"

"I've been black-marked now, just because you misunderstand everything? That's fair." He stated from the seat in front of you. At first you tried focusing on him, but then you made out another female person next to him. Still a little groggy you looked at the girl.

"AH!"

… and you fainted …

Riku slowly poked you. "She's out again …" Then she turned her attention towards her two cousins. "There's something I've been wondering about …"

"Mhm?"

"Why did she faint in the start, when Renji suggested she was your girlfriend?" They all looked puzzled and not getting what she was trying to say. "You see … it's almost like … she's jealous …"

"AM NOT!" And then you passed out again.

Everyone else stared. You liking … Yukimura …?

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

**IHRHC**

Hi everyone!

It's me! Your one and only I.Hate.Running.

First of all I'd like to apologize for the LONG delay and all … I really wanted to update and all; but I've been on a holiday for so long; and when I returned I started in high school! I'm a first year! Wooo! Freshman! :)

I thought it was supposed to be fun and all … but it's just so darn hard … I'm getting stressed out already – four weeks – because of all that homework. And not only that; I have NO idea what they're talking about in class … I was a straight A-student in middle school, but here … I'm one big question-mark.

T.T

I'm scared.

Hehe!

Ah well, that's the way it is. You have to try and fight on!

But I've found this really sweet girl too; Sally, who's my new best friend. In my old school everyone was just … bitches (sorry for the language) and I was so happy to get into a new place. But at first I didn't really talk to anyone in the new class and I thought I was supposed to be alone for three years.

That's when I met her …

She thought exactly the same! :) Isn't that great? And she's an anime fan too (the first I've met so far!) and likes exactly the same things at me. So I think I'll be alright now!

Anyways … I'm back, even though my updates are going to be SLOW!

I got to keep up with school, homework, sport, family, friends and DRAMA (I'm playing a blind and castrated man -.- No comments please XD), so I got a lot to do!

But I will try as much as I now can; so bear with me!

I'm sorry that this chapter might be a little boring and all … but I wrote the first couple of pages a long time ago, and now I can't remember what I wanted to write. But I hope it came out all right … and I got loads of ideas that might pop up along the way?

But before I will update, I need to know if there's still some readers out there? So please do review and yell at me for being such a TURTLE!

I'm SORRY! But I'm back! :)

I.Hate.Running

REVIEW please! :)


	28. Why Renji never opens his Eyes

First of all, here's some review answers for the last two chapter (26 and 27) as I forgot to answer in the last part :) silly meh ...

Thank you to Hinataluv, VixentheHellraizer (x3 - too many reviews! XD), shadowcat189, Lin Taishi, awestruck-person, ixamxeverywhere, SilentNahani, SwtDreamsOfLife (x2), kkute, girl-of-anime, Kona-neechan, XXSakuranXX, SaiKaiya01, kaito142, meeghuanne009. THANK YOU VERY MUCH! ... oh yeah, I've done a (x something) at two people, not because I totally adore them more than anyone else; it's just that they've reviewed more than once since my last two chapters.

Thank you all!

Now for the responses ... --sweatdrop-- which seem to be a lot this time! Ah well, no stalling! Let's get on with it, shall we?!

To **Hinataluv**: Aw, thank you so much :) saying I'm a good writer. Well, I do my best and just hope people like it! Seems like at least you do! So, if you're my fan, then I'm your fan for being my fan! XD Doesn't make sence, but ... ah well! Thank you once again; and hope you'll enjoy this part too! And you vote for Sanada (mostly) and Yukimura, okay! I'll be counting the votes soon once again, because I've lost track. Hm hm ... But I'm remembering it!

To **VixentheHellraizer**: Sooo, 3 reviews :) good job! Really made me all gitty when I looked through the reviews and wrote down the name ... "Oh look! There it is again! And there! AND THERE?!" You asked who the teddish brownhaired one was from Hyotei at some part ... and honestly I don't remember who it was supposed to be :) But ... I think it might have been! Sanada and Niou! Love those two too, so the votes have been counted. That was answer to your first review, here comes the rest XD 2nd! You got sad that I wasn't updating! SORRYHHH! I'm back and hope you like it all! And sorry that I was on a holiday ... I'll never do it again, I swear --shifty eyes--. 3rd! XD Still you trying to make me come back! Haha! I'm back back back back! Enjoy!

To **shadowcat189**: First time you've reviewed my story, right? Extra thanks! :) Nope, she've never been good at kendo, always been crappy at it - you can't be good to everything (unless you're me of course!). How did your exams go? Mine went splendid! Highest avg. is 12; I had 11.11 XD Pretty good, no?

To **Lin Taishi**: Aw, love the word LOL moment XD Oh no, better think you got to glue your behind well on, because here's another chapter for ya! Thanks for reviewing!

To **awestruck-person**: Hehe, I knew my voting would draw someone to review! COME CLOSER MY CHILD! o.o ignore the weird moment, please! Yuki and the Strawberry, got it! I like the name too ... else I wouldn't have named him that! Ha! :) I'm getting more and more hyper for each review I'm answering! Thanks for voting AND reviewing! --huggle--

To **ixamceverywhere**: It wasn't fun! YAY! Just sweet. That's really good to hear (even though most would have found that bad), but then I can write more than just crack! Wee, thankies! MAJOR OBSESSION WITH GEN-CHAN! JOIN MEH! :) I have too ... stoic and ... GAH! Rawr! But Yuki? O.o Because he's more fit to be with Nadjai or just because it could be fun reading? XD I wanna know!

To **SilentNahani**: Hehe, congratulations! That means you're just like her! (except older :P) Aint it nice with finally a Rikkai story, there's just not enough of them! T.T Of course I'm having trouble reading my own, so I'm still searching! There's of course some stories with these hawt guys, but not ENOUGH! XD Hope you're enjoying my story!

To **SwtDreamsOfLife**: Timed two :) 2 reviews! MY LOVE! Hehe, glad you liked the story :) hope you still do! Nadjai liking Yukimura, yup :) I'm trying to edge it that way, but not too much! Gen fluff ... Gen and fluff, in the same sentence XD CRACK! Side story ... you want it all! "The story just got back on tracks-" Is that good or bad? XD

To **kkute**: Sanada it is! :) counted! Thanks for voting!

To **girl-of-anime**: Woo! Funniest Prince of Tennis story? --teary eyes-- WILL YOU MARRY MEH?! Thank you so much! Omg omg omg omg! --fan girl moment-- okay ... sorry bout that ... hehe. Vote for them all XD That's an option too, yesh!

To **Kona-neechan**: here's an update! And thanks for liking my story! :) hope you like this part too! Screw school, I got !

To **XXSakuranXX**: Nuuh! Not the hair ...! Even though white looks good :D Thanks for the welcome! Mhm, I found it just a notch on the boring side too ... --sulks-- But I'll make it better in time! Well, Riku fainted because it was a shock to her too. That they said it was probably his girlfriend she just ... either passed out from cramps of keeping in the laughter, or because she found it so disturbing; Yuki and his sister as a couple XD I don't know ... they're wacky people! And I'm not ... so ... I don't understand ... haha ... no ... not at all ... THANKS FOR REVIEWING --runs off--

To **SaiKaiya01**: Yay, you love them! Thank you so much! :) hope you like this one too! And if not ...! hehe ... You didn't hear that ... --shifty eyes-- ENJOY! XD

To **kaito142**: hey hey! :) Voting is still on! XD Yuki! NO way! I want to be his girlfriend --fan girl mode once again-- RAWR! Who knows if he likes Nadjai or not ... I don't, that's for sure! Haha ... NO MORE QUESTIONS! XD Well, we'll see in time; _that_ I can say!

To **meeghuanne009**: woot :) the last review! Not that I'm not going to answer or anything ... just too many of them XD Constant fainting people ... yeah --shifty eyes-- fainting ... --hides the drugs-- ... mhm ... so ... right ... Sorry for the way! :D Hope you like this too! And now it can finally BEGIN! Let's start it together --both yells-- CURTAINS!

--Pulls away curtains--

Still don't know where they came from ...

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

28 – Why Renji never opens his Eyes

Normal POV

She stared.

At first he merely continued with looking down onto the notebook in his hands, flickering over the words across the many pages. _Hm_ … The sound of the pounding rain against the windows was heard and the low voices of their fellow friends from the corner not far away. Other than that … it was quiet.

Her eyes glanced down onto the little book too, trying to make out the letters and numbers, but then she stared at him again. And the silence was finally broken, as a girl not far away erupted into a nervous laughter. She slammed the book shut and fell back into her chair. "That's _it_! I give up!"

Riku rolled her eyes at the other, but then stared again. And then, she too, spoke up. "Why are your eyes closed?"

Slowly … he turned his head towards her, closing the history book too. Why, she asked …?

Your POV

"I hate this! Hate it, hate it, _hate_ it!" You continued exclaiming, over and over again, disturbing all others who were – in vain – trying to study. "What on Earth do I need Mathe- math- mathemaa- …" Your brow furrowed.

"Mathematics?" Niou suggested, watching you trying to pronounce the word. "Who knows … though I have this theory it's just to torment children."

"… It doesn't make sense …"

Sanada shortly looked up at you and the rest, but then his focus was directed on Renji and Riku, talking about something not far away. Well, she was doing the talking, while – he guessed – Renji was just taking data or whatnot.

"Don't you need math to find the best prices on bubblegum?" Bunta suggested – _actually_ having a point. "Like, there's 2 per cent off on the orange flavoured one, yet the raspberry one's price has gone up with … who knows; 4 per cent? And then you have to decide weather or not to pay the extra for the better bubblegum, or if you should rather buy the cheap one; since you can get more out of doing so?"

You and the other food-maniac looked at each other, then you grinned. "You're right!"

Everyone else just sighed. _Food_, the answer to everything …

Normal POV

"Congratulations with winning the Kantou tournament!" As usual Zen was surrounded by half the school's population; all wanting to shake his hands, touch his clothes or perhaps even get a lock of his hair – lots of scissors flying around at that time!

Smiling, he tried making his way outside, but somehow they managed to trap him into a corner. "Thank you everyone, but I really got to get to practice." He tried pushing a block of paper away from his face, as a quite brave – and stubborn – first year wanted an autograph.

"Of course! You need to prepare for the Nationals, right?" Someone asked – he had no idea (like he cared anyways), but it came from somewhere in the sea of fan girls.

"Ah … yeah …"

"Good luck with that too!" They then _screamed_ at him, _still_ not moving and _still_ pressing him against the wall. "We'll be cheering on you!"

"-Autograph?"

"-this way!"

"MARRY ME!"

Ah yes … The good old times; not having a single second off without having those rabies-hit girls after him … But, there was one sanctuary for him; and it had arrived, he spotted down the hall. "**Oi, you slimy, little maggots! Get away from my boyfriend before I throw something at you all!**" Certainly … Miku had arrived, dragging a couple of _people_ after her. "And you-" she said, just as she stopped up next to him. He glanced down at Nadjai and Riku, waving happily up at him. "Get to practice!"

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

"Sorry about asking, captain, but … do we _really_ have to train in this weather?" Nadjai asked, staring out through the open door into the dressing room. "First of all; the courts are wet and I'd probably slip and break a leg … and secondly, even if I didn't hurt myself I'd catch a cold." She sent a puppy-dog-look at the older girl. "And you don't want your precious best player do get ill, now do you?"

"You're a very cunning person, aren't you?" Miku said, looking out into the grey world too. "You just know how to get your will."

"Having been spoiled my entire life has that effect, yes."

The two of them nodded slowly, not continuing the conversation. Miku stretched. "Ah well …" Then she pushed the other out into the pouring rain. "Off you go anyways!"

"No fair!"

"Bye bye."

The captain then turned towards the others. "And she aint the only one running, now is she? Chop, chop! Off you go!"

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Miku raised her eyebrow and looked at her boyfriend, who was watched the girls run through the pouring rain. "…" She continued staring, waiting for him to break the silence. But … her eye twitched. "_**WHAT**_**?**" She snapped.

"I just wanted to borrow one of your players." He stated.

"For?"

"Diversion." He innocently smiled.

"You're out for Nadjai, aint you?"

"Who else can divert the attention?"

"Fine …" She sighed. "But I want her back in one piece, got it?"

"Hai hai!"

"**Nadjai, get over here!**"

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Your POV

"Where are we going?" You asked, puzzled looking out the window of the bus. Then you glanced back at Renji, sitting next to you on the seat. "Why are _we_ going?"

"Gathering data." He merely said, making you stare.

"What? You're gathering data or are we going to gather data? I mean- are you gathering data right in this very moment, or are we going somewhere to gather data? You know, you have to answer more specific or I get confused!"

"Both."

"…" You continued staring. "… Do you ever open your eyes?"

"…"

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_Hyotei__ Gakuen_.

You stepped out of the bus, while opening your umbrella; and then you looked at the sign on the wall. "Oh? Haven't I heard that name before?"

"Yes."

"… You never do answer with more than two words, do you?"

"No."

"…" Your eye twitched. "Aha …" You then discarded the idea of actual _arguing _with the other, as … that would probably be called a futile attempt. In a discussion between a toaster and a computer; let's see who'd win that, shall we? "Anyways! I was told by your captain to tag along and _divert_ the attention. My first question; _why_? Second one is; why _me_? And third; why … _WHY ON EARTH DIDN'T I GET TO BRING MY LUNCH_?!" You glanced pitiful down onto your stomach. _There, there little friend … everything will be alright … In time!_ "And I want you two answer with more than two words, thank you!"

At first he only looked down on you – or did he? You were never quite sure because of the closed eyes. But then he started walking into the school grounds, you hastily following him. And at that time, he spoke up. "As to your first question, we are here to gather data-" You glared. _Now _that_ I hadn't figured out already …!_ "Your second question; you're here because Marui-kun stated he would never set feet around here, but rather commit suicide." Your eye twitched. _Aha …_ "I'm afraid I don't have the necessary information to answer your last question, and that is also highly classified." _It's just _lunch_?!_

"Okay …" You said slowly, trailing off. But not for long, as you soon took up the topic once again. "_Why_ are we gathering data here?" He opened his mouth to retort, yet you stuck a finger up in front of his face. "Remember! More than two words!"

"… Because two of the best teams, who's going to the Nationals, are gathered here to have a practice match again each other. Buchou did not want to miss out on it, but as he had to prepare the line-up for the upcoming tournament too, he had to sent someone else. I, for one, to gather the actual data. You …" He turned silent and stopped too, looking around for the tennis courts.

"Yeah? What's with me?" You asked, grinning broadly. "You needed some exotic beauty to tag along, so that this mission would just get a little more style into it all? Because honestly … he probably couldn't let you ruin Rikkai's reputation, now could he?"

"… No, more because he needed someone, who'd be stupid enough to sign up for this _mission_." Renji continued, completely ignoring your theory. "Of course he asked someone from the boys' team at first, but the only one with the required _low_ IQ did not accept it – as I mentioned earlier."

"… Strawberry-kun was probably scared of his fan-boy …" You muttered, thinking of the last time Hyotei and Rikkai Dai had met. _Poor fellow, I have to admit._

"So, your job is to divert the attention, while I manage to infiltrate the group and get the needed information."

"… This is so James Bond like …"

Your eyes shimmered.

"Can I be the Bond babe?!"

"No."

"…"

You glared, as he finally found the right way to the courts – bloody rich kids; too large compounds!

"You don't look like James Bond either …"

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Normal POV

_Dadadada- dada- dadadadadada- dadada daaaaa__-!_

The female captain of the Hyotei team suddenly wondered why the theme-song for the _Pink Panther_ was being played somewhere near, and she came to a halt; her team's vice-captain stopping abruptly after her. "Can you hear that?" She asked, stretching her ears to find the direction of the noise.

"No … what?" The other asked, wondering if her captain was finally going crazy.

"Da daaaaaa!"

Both of them stared as a girl rounded the corner, tripped in her shoe-lace and lay flat out in front of them, in the dust. Nadjai's eye twitched, as her dramatic entrance had suddenly been ruined by her freaking shoes once again! – They were out to get her, she was sure of it!

"Aint that …" The lower-ranking of the two girls asked, pointing onto the third.

Akechi's blood started to boil. _Yes_, indeed it was … it was indeed that annoying, little rat of a freshman, who had defeated her and sent them out of the tournament in their first match! And just because she had let herself get wrapped up into their pace and fallen into their trap. _Yes_, it sure was … "Oi …" She started off slowly, kneeling in front of her. "What exactly are you doing here?" She hissed, lifting the Rikkai kid's head up.

Nadjai gave off a goofy grin, somehow thinking she was facing an enemy worth Miku's time … well, the captain's beat-red head somehow gave off the impression of a volcano about to burst and barbeque her any second, at least. "Well … err- you see …" Her eyes wandered around, trying to find a way out of the trap. "AH! Is that … SANTA?!"

"What the heck are you …" The elder girl muttered and turned to stare (sure got to be stupid then?). And so she saw her queue to …

RUN!

"Haha, got you good Ogre Girl!"

Well of course she just had to say the last part, didn't see? The vice-captain wondered, as she watched her superior fuming. "Let the hunt begin?" She suggested.

"Y-yes …" The other answered through gritted teeth. "Gather the girls … I want her dead before dawn!"

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Renji walked closer to the tennis courts and was greeted by the usual noises, which were so familiar from the Rikkai Dai courts. The sound of balls being hit across the ground; the screaming of fan-girls; and orders being barked out by the juniors and seniors. He skimmed over the crowd, trying to find the best spot to gather data and … _target locked_.

He quickly avoided a swarm of fans hurrying towards the tribunes that Hyotei was so _rich_ to have, and then moved over to the side, where another bunch of girls had flocked up. _Just perfect!_

"**The winners will be Hyotei!**"

Even though it was only a practice match between two (competing) schools, the (in)famous Hyotei Cheering Squad, version 2.1, had gathered up; armed with headbands, flags and … pictures of a certain Enemy no. 1. They seemed to have taken measurements after the last time's showdown between Renji's own school and theirs.

Nadjai equals a no-no.

"**The winners will be Hyotei!**"

Suddenly they all started cheering uncontrollably as the stars of today entered stage. The regulars of the wealthy school stepped out onto court and Renji quickly looked over their faces, putting a name to each of them. But … it was not only the Hyotei Squad, no; something else was heard too …

"**Seigaku! Fight-o! Fight!**"

Today's competitors was from another famous Tokyo-school; the Seishun Gakuen. As Renji tried naming those too he stumbled over a couple of unfamiliar faces. "New Regulars?" He wondered, adding this to his data. "Interesting …"

"Yaa, Yamato-san! Good luck!"

"Kya! Beat them, Buchou-sama!"

As the two captains stepped forward and greeted each other, the girls around the data collector went nuts and … it distinctly felt like his eardrums got blown out. "That's … interesting too, I guess."

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Your POV

_Why me …?_ You started off with, as you were sneaking a peak out through the leaves in the tree. _What have I done to deserve this?_ Of course, self-pitying always _did_ help out a lot, didn't it?

Yes, if you have a bad day; blame yourself! It's your fault there's pollution all over the world. It's your fault that the whales are dying. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention … TELETUBBIES BEING MORE POPULAR THAN EVER?!

Ah yes, nothing sure beats self-pitying …

Back to the story!

But then again, it _was_ your fault. You had insulted their captain and trespassed into their school properties without permission (therefore trespassing?), so of course they were now hunting you … it was completely in their rights!

So, the only escape apparently was a tree … Yay you! _This is not my day … but then again … _When_ is it?!_ You quickly covered behind the greenish leaves once again, as a couple of regulars ran by, asking everyone on their way for a girl, somewhat looking like you.

"You'll never find me here …" You cackled quietly to yourself. But then it hit you … You had promised to meet up with Renji once again; and you wanted to watch the matches too!

You looked down onto the ground. _Eye twitch in three … two … one … "_How am I getting down from here …?"

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In the meantime, while a girl far away was trying to get down from a tree, the Rikkai Dai practice continued as usual. Well, usual and usual, I wouldn't say. Or …

Most of the freshmen were being piled up in a corner, as most of them had passed out from the impossible practice. Somewhere a feet or a head was sticking out from the elder students too, but it was mostly the seniors, who were able to keep up with the menu of today.

Yukimura merely smiled, as he was trotting easily after the other Regulars, Sanada right next to him. "Saa, where did Renji go?" He asked, wanting to break the _boring _silence. But then again; he might have forgotten who, he was trying to start a conversation with.

Sanada just continued looking straight ahead, focusing on the practice … while thinking of ways to kill a few annoying people (included the one next to him at the moment).

"He was with Nadjai; I noticed …" The princess continued, more likely talking to himself by then. "Seems like our captain is up to something as usual. Wonder what that is too …?"

"…" Sanada replied. Hey! Three dots! Progress! Cheers!

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"Woo, success!" You cheered, finally back on dear ground. "If it weren't because I pretty much kiss you every, I'd so do it!" You beamed fondly at the dirt and dust and … beetle-remainings …

… Random moment with the Earth – skip?

Let's …

"Off we go, to Renji!" You threw your fist in the air, as you somehow had gotten more positive about life. – After having been stuck in a tree for five minutes? Just wondering …

Your head popped up above all others, as you were jumping from one leg to another, trying to catch a glimpse of your fellow school-mate. No sign of him, unfortunately; only screaming girls (and boys). "Aw, where are you?" You wondered out loud.

Then you started pressing your way through, ignoring the glares and curses being sent your way. At times you tried getting a look at the courts too, but a sea of fan-girls was blocking your vision. So you had to stick with the sounds.

_Bock! Bock! Smack!_(?)_ Bock! Bock-bock-bock …_

"1-0, Hyotei!" One of the referees called out, telling the score from the latest match.

"Wah! We're dominating the court!" You heard a girl whisper to another in an excited voice.

"What had you expected?" Another retorted, making you roll your eyes. _Let's not forget who easily beat you all? _"-it's only a freshman!"

At this your ears perked up. _Freshman?_ So Seigaku had freshmen regulars too? _They're not to be taking lightly then …_ You thought, since you knew what freshmen players meant; not like these girls. Sure, if you had freshmen playing it gave of the idea, that you didn't have enough players, who were good enough and had to send the _little fellows_ in in stead. _Let's see … suggestions for freshmen who're _sooo_ not good enough! Yukimura, Sanada … No-eyes … ah yes; we _sooo_ don't know how to play!_

"Excuse me, coming through!" You said, elbowing the girl from earlier.

"Hey! Watch it!" She called after you in that snappy voice.

You slowly turned around and smiled sweetly at her. "Oh sorry, didn't see you there!"

At first she merely stared, but then it dawned on her; as her eyes slid over your uniform. "H-hey, aren't you-?"

"Bye bye!" You quickly disappeared in the crowd, leaving the girl and her puzzled friend back. But they weren't done with you just yet …

"We got to tell Akechi-san right away!" She hissed.

"Huh? What?"

"Rikkai Dai is here!"

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"Found you!" You mused in your head; as you had spotted a darkish brown haired boy up ahead. As you tried making your way through yet another sea of fan girls, you nodded in your mind. _Not bad … A good place to hide, indeed._

The best place to hide at a match against two highly popular schools, where would that be? A place, where no one would ever notice you – at all look. The answer is … among fan girls! No one ever pays attention to them, they're like air and so; if you don't look that way, you'd have no chance of spotting a boy either!

At first you slowly snuck closer to him, wanting to hide his eyes with your hands and ask "guess who!", but somehow that just didn't seem right … why cover the eyes of someone, who probably don't even have any?

You sighed; "You're no fun!" Just as you stood next to him.

Of course, did he answer? Nah …

"Nice place to hide; no one _ever_ pays attention to the fan girls."

No answer …

"…" You shrugged it off and watched the match, wanting to have a look at yet another freshman ace. Hyotei was as usual sending out their most qualified and you noticed him for being the only not-unconscious from the Rikkai-Hyotei clash. The other was slightly shorter, pretty much around Sanada's height (a lot taller than you then!), light brown hair and glasses.

_Seen him before … I know I have …_ You thought in your head, trying to remember. "Oi, Renji-kun, know who the Seigaku-kid is?"

He still stayed silent.

"I take your silence as a no, and you are so shocked; not having that in your data, that you're unable to speak!" You teased him, grinning broadly. _Oh yeah, sweet revenge!_

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"Well, that was fun!" You cheered, as the matches had ended. The two of you were now on your way back to the bus, so that you could hand in the report. Between the two teams, they were quite equal, yet Hyotei had managed to drag home a victory, winning 3 out of 5 matches.

You glanced up at the sky, noticing how the clouds were evaporating into thin air and the rain had luckily stopped a long time ago. But suddenly, as Renji felt a presence in front of him, he quickly stopped up. Yet you continued wandering straight forward, stretching out.

And …

_Bump!_

"Hey, watch it!" Someone hissed at you. Slowly you got to your feet once again and bowed down to apologize … Or, well you would have, if it weren't because you noticed _who_, you had bumped in to.

He growled, as the two of you stood face to face. "Not you …"

"Ah!" As one became grumpy, another cheered up right away, noticing you too. "Is Marui-sama here too?!"

You chuckled. "Nah, he's too scared of you, so he stayed home."

"… Aw …"

"O-oi! Don't just ignore me!" The red-head snapped, jumping in front of your vision once again. "What are you two doing here? You're not allowed to, you know!"

At first you merely blinked and stared at him. "Who _exactly_ are you?" You then questioned, making him fall over.

"You don't know who _I_ am?"

"Err, no; that's why I asked …"

"I am the incredible Mukahi Gakuto!"

"… Never heard of him." You shrugged, making the boy get even more ticked off.

In the meantime Renji just looked at the two, thinking it'd continue for oh so long. So, as he spotted some of the Seigaku players along with the two Hyotei ones, he walked over for a _chat_.

"How can you _not_ have heard of me?!"

"Sorry, but I just haven't!"

"But- but-!"

The three looked at him, yet only one spoke up. "Renji."

"Sadaharu." He answered.

"Get over it, cry baby!"

"Who's a-?"

"Why didn't Marui-sama come …?"

"Get over it …"

"What are you two doing here?" The newly mentioned asked, using a finger to tip his glasses further up in front of his eyes, a shimmer running across them from the sunlight. _Iie data …_

"Data." The other said, not even then opening his eyes.

"I swear … if you don't start liste-!"

"Aw, don't cry little one! There there!"

"B-but Murai-sama didn't come!"

"He- err … he was just too busy!"

"… I want you to _list_-!"

"I should say hi from him?"

"Really?!"

"Ah … y-yeah …"

"Fujioka Nadjai …" The glass-wearing one stated.

"Know her?"

"Yes …"

"Okay, that's _it_!"

Of course it ended up with Gakuto jumping you; somehow dragging Jirou into it all.

"Marui-sama, save me!"

The Seigaku placers glanced onto the three on the ground, while Renji merely continued exchanging data with his old friend. "From where exactly, do you know her?"

… and then Sadaharu told something very interesting …

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Normal POV

"Why is it, that whenever I find you people together, it's like _this_?" A voice asked, making the two vs. one stop and sit on the ground. "Why is it, that you two – from _my_ team – are always fighting? And why is it; that it's _always_ the nub-cake, who's your enemy?"

"Oi!"

The two scurried up and bowed to their captain. "We apologize, Buchou!"

"I take it, it is not your fault …" He then said slowly, eyes falling upon the two not-supposed-to-be-here kids. "I take it, that it is Rikkai's."

Nadjai slowly whistled innocently, edging closer to Renji for each step. But, of course … others had arrived. _Bump_. A hand grabbed around her arms, keeping the freshman girl locked. "Well, well, look what we got here … found you." Akechi hissed in her ear.

"Wah, Ogre Girl has returned!" Nadjai cried out, making it all _worse_.

"… God I hate you …"

But before she was able to murder her, the younger girl somehow managed to escape her grip in a moment of not paying attention, and slipped away. Quickly she grabbed her friend's hand and … ran for it.

"Wah!"

At first the two captains looked after them; puzzled and asking themselves _what_. But then they quickly ran after them.

"And that was Rikkai Dai …" Gakuto muttered, wiping off dust from his shirt. "A bunch of lunatics …"

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"Oh- oh no! We're trapped! Renji, what are we going to do?!" Nadjai asked, trying to scrape her way out through the wall with her nails. At first she had thought hiding in the janitor's closet would be a brilliant idea … if of course the persuaders hadn't seen them go in there …

"We got you now." The male captain said, stepping closer.

"Please don't hurt me! I have a wife and two young daughters!" She tried.

"…"

With an elbow in the side, Renji looked down upon the other. "Do something …" She mimed, not a word coming from her lips.

He sighed. It was probably the only way out … "Cover your eyes then."

Nadjai stared up at him confused. _Her eyes?_

"This is as far as you go." He then said, stepping in front of her. The two captains stared.

"What _now_?"

And then …

… he opened his eyes.

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Not far away, the Seigaku players were going into their bus, heading home. But suddenly, as a large mushroom-shaped cloud filled the air behind the school … they all stopped.

"What on Earth is _that_?!" Someone exclaimed.

Sadaharu once again pushed up his glasses. "He released his true powers …"

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Your POV

"Promise me …" You started off slowly, sitting in a bus too, shaked up completely. "To never open your eyes … _ever_ again!"

"…" Renji stayed silent, but you knew he was agreeing.

You sighed in relief. "Good …"

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Of course a lot of things had happened at Hyotei Gakuen that day, but there had come _some_ good things out of it. For example, you were able to tell Riku the answer to her question.

"Why Renji never opens his eyes …"

Riku leaned in closer. "Yeah …?"

"… is way to scary for me to ever explain."

Her head dropped.

"But I suggest you shall pray to never see them open yourself."

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**IHRHC**

Greetings all! Here's yet another update from my side off, and I'd just say it took me a REAL long time writing it … this is 13 pages! A lot I'd say … but I'm proud of it as usual …

It took me longer because, just to get in shape again, read all the old ones, trying to remember silly things etc. For example the fact she's allergic to tomatoes … But here it is!

Hope you enjoyed it and please do review! Got 98 reviews so far and would really, really, really want it to get over 100 :) No? So, please do!

Other than that? Nah!

See you for chapter 29!

Ja ne!


	29. Why Jackal forgot to Shave

Hey, it's in the middle of the night, so I just want to put this out ... so can't response to the reviews, but they'll come out in chapter 30! :) hope that's alright!

Now, here's part 29! Sorry for the delay!

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**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

29 – Why Jackal forgot to shave

Normal POV

"And as everyone knows, when divi-"

_Snore …_

"You then get to the result 2x-y, which you have to-"

_Snore …_

Riku quickly scribbled down what the teacher said, trying to keep up with the mathematics. From time to time she glanced onto the girl in the chair next to her, envying the brainless freshman … If only she didn't have to care about her studies; but she was trying to have at least _some_ future ahead of herself.

But then again, who would build their future in middle school? Nadjai was definitely not one, who would, that's for sure. Oh no, middle school was supposed to be fun, fun, _fun!_ She moved in her sleep and her mouth dropped open, letting out the snore even louder. Everyone nearby sighed … unable to concentrate whatsoever in the noise.

Of course, as usual, the teacher didn't pay attention; as he was too busy trying to teach them all the wonders of math. "And then you multiply with-"

"My cake …" She muttered, making yet another person give up and shut the book closed. "Don't touch it … Strawberry …"

Riku rolled her eyes, concentrating her attention towards the blackboard. "Whatever …"

"And then I'd like … err …" The teacher said slowly, suddenly having lost track of his teachings, as he tried finding a _victim_ to get to the board and do the recently written task. "How about …" And so he looked through his mind to find a name … a face popped up. "Ah, Nadjai-chan, would you please come with the definition to solving this problem?"

Riku raised an eyebrow. _The best choice, indeed! _She thought; and then her eyebrow shot up even further, as the girl next to her bolted up in her sleep. "Sinus to angel A divided by length _a_ equals Sinus to angel B divided by length _b_!" Then her head dropped to the table once again with a _slam!_; the student was out again.

Everyone went silent. _What in the world?_

At first the teacher happily scribbled on onto the blackboard, but suddenly the chalk hesitated and his brow furrowed. He just remembered, who he had asked. Slowly, he turned around and stared at the sleeping girl, then … he fainted.

"… That was expected." Miku muttered, writing down Nadjai's _correct_ answer – which was _un_expected. She gently patted her friend next to her. "Good girl, made us get a free class!"

Just then a knock was heard …

"Sorry to interrupt your class, sensei, but-"

All the students of the freshman class looked up onto the girl, who had just entered. Riku snorted, wondering why this day just got more and more entertaining. The female captain of the tennis team stood there, trying to get into contact with the teacher before entering any further. The younger of the girls especially noticed the _humble_ look on the normally terrifying senior. _Oh my ..._

But then Miku's eyes fell upon the knocked out teacher. "…" And her expression quickly changed back to normal. "Do I even want to know?" She pondered out loud, doing a mental note to take an aspirin as soon as possible: this day was _doomed_ to go bad. "Oi, nub cake one and two, there's a team meeting now so get going, _thank you_."

Riku sighed slowly, closing her book and shuffling down into her bag. Then she stood up, making the captain set the attention onto her. "A meeting?" She asked, slinging the bag over her shoulders. "What sort of a _meeting_?"

"You'll know when we get there, now where's nub cake number one?"

_So I was number two, eh?_

Riku rolled her eyes. "Take a guess." And she then pointed towards the sleeping girl next to her, also smacking her friend on top of the head on the way.

"Maybe an entire glass rather than just one …" Miku muttered once again to herself; making Riku wonder. _Glass?_

The captain quickly walked over, totally ignoring the other students and the unconscious teacher. "Alright then … you take the legs, I'll do the arms." Riku, unable to argue – even if she wanted – grabbed a pair of feet and followed the elder girl out the door.

Everyone else stared after them. Then …

_Mutual sigh_ …

And so they opened their books and _finally_ started studying as they were supposed to do.

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_Drag! Bock! Bock! Bock! Smack! Draaag!_

"…" All the members of the female tennis team of Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku stared blankly at each other, somehow having an idea as to _what_ was coming their way. Cramped together in the basement, they were waiting for their captain to fetch the last two remaining members … so who else could it be?

Only a small lamp hung from the ceiling, sending just a tad light down upon them. So when the door opened up from the stairs, all got blinded. But, as always, eyes accustom to the light in the blink of an eye, and so they saw Miku letting go of a couple of hands, making the sleeping girl get knocked down onto the ground.

Riku, deciding there was no point in holding up the other girl's legs any more, let go too and joined the other freshmen in the corner. "Yes, now that everyone is here, let's get this meeting started."

"… Shouldn't we try and get life back into Nadjai?" Iwasaki asked, gently poking the girl with a foot. "You knocked her out again …" She then accused her captain, which, for the first time ever, wasn't what really happened.

"She's merely asleep …" Miku waved it off. "Anyways, it's not like she'll be of any use."

"Ah …" And so Iwasaki sat down on the group again, letting the meeting finally start.

"Sorry to drag all of you out of class, but this is an important meeting about the upcoming Nationals." Their captain then stated, also kneeling down and straightened her uniform. "Since …" Her eyes darkened. "This year, we will _not_ lose. We will train harder than anyone else, fight harder than anyone else and poison more than anyone else!"

"Hear, hear!" The seniors and juniors cheered, since they had been with the team the year before at their defeat in the Nationals.

The freshmen though all looked rather disturbed, since they had actually _listened_, to what their captain had said. _Poison more …?!_

"And so!" Miku continued. "We need a lot of cheering from you all! That's what I'd like to talk abo-"

The meeting continued, the 2nd and 3rd years getting more and more worked up, while the 1st years were just … scared.

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In the mean time, not far away – actually right above the female team, on the first floor – the boys had gathered up for a meeting of the same kind. Except this was a little more … quiet. Zen sighed and looked out the window. His vice captain discussed something with the rest of the regulars, but from time to time glanced upon the other senior.

"Buchou …" He started off slowly, sort of annoyed to be the one to always _snap_ him out of it. "Shouldn't we get started with the meeting; we have to remember we took everyone out from class."

"Huh?" He looked up at his friend. "Ah … yeah …" He stood up and manoeuvred out onto the middle of the floor, catching everyone's attention. "Is everyone here?" He asked, eyes scanning over them all.

Just then the door was slung open and with a _clack!_, it hit the wall. "Sorry we're late, Buchou!" A cheerful voice said. "We were late for class, so we hadn't hear of the gathering!" The first of two that stepped in was a pinkish-haired guy, stuffing his face with an extremely sugary cake (it seemed) and a broad smile from one ear to another. "Hope we're not disturbing!" He gave them all the V-sign before sitting down next to his friends at the wall. And that …

Revealed the _other_ guy.

Everyone stared.

Well, everyone except a couple of people.

Yukimura snickered, trying to hide it behind a hand … but the _smile_ still popped out.

Bunta merely continued eating his cake; already had his _freak out time_ earlier that day.

Niou? Well, he just found out a camera and went nuts – these were going up on the school's board!

"…" The captain waltzed over, head tilted to one side. "Haven't we met before?" He asked.

"…"

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Nadjai's eyes popped open and she looked around groggily. "Hm?" She pondered, wondering why she was somewhere, which seemed like a basement. "What am I doing here …?"

She lifted her head from the floor, scratching her back and stretched. The girl muffled a yawn and stood up, trying to get blood into her legs. Then she walked for the door, pulled and … got no where.

"Why am I locked up too?" She asked no one in particular, yet hoped for an answer. Nadjai pulled the doorknob once again, but of course that didn't help one bit. "… Hm …"

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Riku scratched the side of her head with the pencil, half-pondering what the teacher was talking about, but also half-wondering … why did she have a feeling of having forgotten something? _Hm …?_ She quickly scribbled down something in her notebook, but halfway through the sentence, the tip broke off.

She rustled through her pencil case for the sharpener, but failed miserably. "Oi, Nadjai, do you-" She turned her head to her friend at the table next to her, but … "Oh!" She then erupted, remembering.

_My bad …_ She shrugged it off quickly and looked through her friend's case too and took out the sharpener. _She'll manage I guess._

Just then a sound was heard from below. "OOOOOOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"

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"Can't recognize me? Is it _that_ different?" The boy muttered, sighed and pulled the maps further up over his shoulder. He frowned and opened the door down to the basement, quickly going down the stairs. "Weird as they are though … I don't blame them."

As he came to the second door at the end of the stairs, he pulled it out, but found it locked. "Oh?"

On the other side, a pair of ears perked up. Nadjai jumped to her feet once again, having been going into a slumber against the wall. "Is someone there?" She called through the wooden door.

The guy stiffened, recognizing the voice. "Great … couldn't be better."

"Could you open the door, please? It's locked and I'd really like to come out!" Nadjai called out.

"Y-yeah, sure … But, I don't have any keys."

"Well …" The girl retorted, sort of getting ticked off. "Maybe you could find someone who got the _bloody_ key then?!"

"Easy! I'll get one, wait here." He hurried up the stairs once again.

"Not like I can go anywhere anyways!" She yelled after him. "Honestly …" She slid down onto the ground again. "Can't blame him though, being a _guy_ … Just have no brains what so ever!"

_Look who's talking?_

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Your POV

You jumped back from the door as you heard a key getting turned. _My saviors!_ You thought in your mind, ready to run off and be FREE! The door slung open, revealing a teacher and a student. "Thank God!" You exclaimed.

Then you followed the two up the stairs, towards _freedom._ You quickly glanced at the boy, walking beside you. "Sorry to be this rude to you!" You apologized, smiling up at him. Then you got a good look at him and … blushed.

He walked next to you, having looked down too, as you spoke up. _Is she … blushing?!_ He thought, stating to get a little disturbed.

"Are you new around here? I haven't seen you around before?" You slowly pondered why your heart started thumping faster. "I'm certain I'd have recognized you …" You muttered, prying your gaze away from him, because he was just … drop-dead gorgeous!

"I've been here from the beginning." He started off, but before being able to continue, you cut him off.

"Really? But I'm sure-"

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_Clack!_

"Why you little-!" You exclaimed, having slung the door open; shocking everyone, making half of your class drop from their chairs. "I can't believe you left me in that basement!"

Riku looked up slowly, stuffing noodles into her mouth. "Oh? How do you know it was me? I thought you were fast asleep when we dragged you off-"

"So it was _you_!" You snapped, stomping over. You snatched away her bento and … your eye fell upon it. "You're even eating _my_ lunch?! While I'm stuck in the basement?! I can't believe you! And you call yourself my friend? I'm so done with you!"

"What do you mean _done_ …?"

"I won't _ever_ she you again! You're so mean and evil and don't even care what happens to me! A friend do _not_ act like that – which means, you can _possible_ be my friend! Good _bye_!" And so you stomped for the door once again. "You idiot!"

The door slammed after you …

Riku slowly put down the chopsticks, blinking confused. Then she shook her head, wondering how long it'd take you to return after your bags. "I'm the idiot?" She then asked, as you stood before her once again, quickly packing your stuff together. "I-di-ot!" She mused at you, but-

_SLAP!_

Riku slowly put a hand to the now red cheek on her face, where your hand had made an impact.

"Idiot!" You yelled at her, quickly leaving the room.

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Normal POV

"Wow-!" Joruni dodged another tennis ball, having been shot in her direction. "What's with you?!" She yelled at the freshman girl, who had a killer aura emitting from her. "I don't think I've done anything to do … today …"

Of course she had been unable to return the ball and the point went for the younger of the two. "30-0." Miku called out, _bored_ having found a comfortable seat in the referee's place, watching the match with pleasure. _This_ was entertaining at least to say.

Joruni's eye twitched, as she watched how Nadjai nearly crushed the ball, preparing herself for the serve. "Idiot …? How can she say that …?" She muttered, leaning back and throwing the innocent, yellow ball into the air. "I'll crush you!" She yelled frustrated, slashing at the ball with the racket as a sword.

"EEK?!"

The regulars all looked, as Joruni was knocked out cold.

… Miku dropped from the chair, laughing.

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"10 minutes free practice!"

Everyone cheered. When the captain actually said _that_ – those 4 words – it was _partey!_ The regulars dropped to the ground, taken the free _practice_ as a break; the seniors and juniors ended up chatting with each other; and the freshman flocked the court, taking this once in a lifetime chance to actually play on the famous Rikkai courts.

Nadjai stomped off, not even bothering to apologize to her senior. In the meantime, the unfortunate vice captain suddenly found another just as ominous shadow over her. "Fukubuchou, would you mind playing me? I'd like to try something."

"Huh?" Iwasaki looked down on Riku. "Sure, how come?"

The girl smiled sweetly at her. "I'd just like to try out a move, before I use it for real …"

"Ah, yeah …"

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He froze once again, feeling a pair of eyes upon him. He turned and … watched her blush at him. "Hi again!" She cheered through the net, waving at him. The Strawberry walked over to the other …

"Why is Nadjai looking at you weirdly."

"I honestly don't want to know."

"Ah …" Bunta's eye twitched, somehow having looked through her expression. "Seems like she got a crush on you."

"You honestly had to say it out loud … I was trying to deny it."

"Hm … must be the hair." Bunta shrugged it off and walked over to the others again.

Within a second, she had managed to sneak in onto the courts. "I still haven't introduced myself!" She smiled cutely at him, making him even more freaked out … also because he suddenly felt a couple of eyes glaring at him from afar. He glanced over his shoulder; the freshman group was all waving at him, trying to act normal.

"There is no need." He sighed. "I know your name, Fujika Nadjai."

"Oh?" She gasped. "Really?! Then!" She pointed a finger at him. "What's your name?"

"Jackal Kuwahara."

"EHHHHH?!"

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Iwasaki dropped to the ground.

"What- what was that?" She whispered; eyes wide and on the ball, which continued to spin on the ground in front of her.

"Hm …" Riku looked at her racket. "Think it'll do."

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"…" She just stared, still pointing a finger at him. "… But-"

"Hm?"

"… Weren't you bald?!" She then asked, mouth dropping open.

"Yes …"

"But- but-! Your hair!" It may be she was dumb beyond belief, but even she could figure out it weren't possible. "You were bald _yesterday_?! It- it's a day ago! And now … it's like … 10 inches long! In a day?!"

"… I need to shave every thirty minutes, yes …"

She gaped. _What the …?!_

"And … I didn't get to shave this morning, since _someone_ disturbed me in the middle of everything." He glared at Bunta, who was hiding behind the Princess, muttering sorry over and over.

"…" She blinked. "I see …" Nadjai nodded slowly. "That makes sense … Yes." To everyone's astonishment but then again – no surprise – she beamed happily. "I understand!" She smiled and slowly backed off. "The captain's calling for me! Though … nice hair actually, Jackal-sama!"

Everyone chocked. _SAMA?!_

"Bye!" She blushed once again and ran off happily.

"She honestly looked like a fan-girl …" Niou muttered.

"Ah …"

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"I challenge you, idiot!" Riku said, as Nadjai stepped out onto the courts again after the _10 minutes free practice_. "No one slaps me and gets away with it!"

"…" Nadjai dreamily looked at the other ex-friend. "Huh? Ah- sure …"

"What's- why are you blushing?"

"Oh? Blushing?" She felt her cheeks. "I am … Must be because …"

"No actually …" Riku muttered. "I don't want to know …"

"**Get a move on!**" The captain said, once again sitting in the chair. "**I reserved a court for you two, so get on with it! The winner gets the spot as a regular in the Nationals.**"

"Eh?" Both of them looked up. "R-regulars?"

Nadjai, who was in the middle of pulling out her racket by reflex, looked up. "Really? I'll get kicked out if I loose?"

"Yes."

"Oh. Well then …" She stuffed it into her bag again. "Then I forfeit!" She patted Riku on the shoulder. "Have fun in the Nationals." And then she walked off.

"… I guess I should have predicted that?"

"Yeah …"

"Shut up, Iwasaki."

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Nadjai's mother glanced in through the door to the kitchen. "Honey, sure you don't need any help?" She asked, quite nervous for her house.

"Excuse me, mom, but let's just remember, shall we? _I_ am the one who knows how to cook – _you_? I highly doubt it, so please don't interfere with my work, ok?"

"S-sure … but what are you doing?"

"I'm making lunch for my _beloved_!"

"Ah …" Her mother backed out again, especially as her daughter had stars in her eyes. "Good luck with it then …"

Nadjai hummed happily, as she made a bento for her new idol. "Jackal-sama will love this, I'm sure!" She cackled manically.

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"Jackal-sama!"

Bunta and Jackal stopped up, as the girl stopped up next to them. She bowed down in front of him, presenting the newly made bento, draped in a heart-shaped cloth. "I made this for you."

"Err …" He hesitated about picking it up – especially since he felt _The Eyes_ upon him again. "T-thank you, but …"

"I made it with all my _love_!" She looked up again and … froze. "Never mind!" She held it out and smacked it into a just passing by Riku. "I'd better get inside!"

And so, they watched her walk off, looking rather shocked out of it all. Bunta blew a bubble from his new package of lime bubblegum; Jackal scratched his now newly shaved head and … Riku stared at the bento at her chest.

She then shrugged it off and walked for class. "See you guys around."

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"Hey, Jackal …" Bunta said slowly, looking at the declaration of his bubblegum, while they were taking a break from English class. "Why did you shave your hair off again – you actually had fan girls like the rest of us."

"Nadjai was freaking me out."

"Ah … yeah, that makes sense …"

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"You're still an idiot, you know that right?"

"Yeah, sure. Same to you."

"Whatever …"

"Shut up."

"Same to you."

Nadjai and Riku were sitting on the roof, eating their lunch. Riku removed the heart-patterned cloth with a grimace; eating the bento. She shook her head. _I knew she'd return to Seiichi again … fufufu …_

"By the way, Riku …?"

"Yeah?"

"Does this mean you're the new regular?"

"… I wonder …"

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"WAHH!"

Miku's sister once again dared stepping into her younger sister's room. "What is it now?"

"She won't talk to me! – AGAIN!"

_Smack!_

… and she left the room – again.

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**IHRHC**

Sorry everyone that it has taken such a long time for me to update, but I've been sitting all day today to write this, so hope you like it!

Also, I've been unable to change the " and ' this time, since I didn't have much time and just wanted to put this out. So I hope it's alright and it won't ruin your reading experience! :)

Well, review please and I'll try and write number 30 as soon as possible!

Ja ne!

... I feel like I'm hurrying it too much ... Sorry! But ... review! XD


	30. Exclusive Interview I

-claps excitedly- part 30 it is now! Can't believe we've made it this far!

I hope you all still like my writing … o.o I got to admit; crack. Heh, guess I can't write "properly". And I certainly hope that not too many people have fallen back and haven't read lately, because of my absence. T.T

Ah well!

About reviews … err, well … it's like this … I don't know if I'm in the mood to answer ALL of them –sweatdrops- you've been so generous lately and I've gotten so many …

All in all, the thing I try to get through to everyone is …

**THANK YOU SO MUCH!**

Now, I'm not gonna answer then, so … yeah!

This is pretty much a follow-up on everything before the Nationals arrive! So, a filler or whatnot. Hope it won't be too boring; but there's some main points in it too that will later be revealed – such as the interesting things that Inui told Renji back at the Hyotei-Seigaku clash.

And I can tell you as much as something HIGHLY surprising will unfold along the way in this chapter - this is a two-parter, so not all will be told just yet!

BUT!

Here's chapter 30!

-pulls curtains away-

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**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

30 – Exclusive Interview I

Normal POV

"Excuse me, but you don't possible know where I can find the freshman ace of the tennis club, do you?" A voice suddenly spoke up behind the girl.

"Huh?" Nadjai slowly turned on the bench, a carrot sticking halfway out of her mouth. She took her time, getting a good look on the man in front of her; eyes falling upon his camera and then further to the small notebook tucked down his backpack. "… Freshman … ace … is it?" She then muttered, thinking about his question. _Do we have one of those in school?_ "Ah, yeah …" She then continued, slowly chewing the carrot in the meantime, making it tip up and down in her mouth, catching the reporter's attention immediately. "I guess it'd be _that_ one." She muttered, pointing a finger against the tall captain and younger girl.

"Thank you very much." He said, quickly hurrying over to the two.

_Freshman ace?_

She shrugged it off and returned to her studies, sucking the orange stick into her mouth (I felt weird writing this sentence …?) and tried solving the third-grade question. "2 and … 2 is it?" She muttered to herself, writing down seven on the paper next to the problem. "Well, that's easy …"

Nadjai glanced up at the guy, now busily talking with the captain; the _freshman ace_ standing next to them, keeping up with the conversation without saying a single word. The black haired girl's brow suddenly furrowed. "Hm?" She pressed a hand to her chest. "Weird feeling?"

"Oi, Nadjai-chan!"

Without really thinking about it, she dodged the girl, who threw herself at her in a hug. Not that she would have minded a hug at that time, somewhat feeling moody, but it was just reflex! Honestly … The newly arrived girl dropped to the ground; head first. "Hm? What is it Riku-chan?" She asked, looking at the next problem.

"Are you serious?" Riku asked, jumping to her feet and sat down next to her. "I heard from Iwasaki that you had quit the club? Why?"

She merely shrugged at first, tapping the pencil against the paper. "Well … I guess I'm not needed anymore … Now that she's here." She threw her head in the direction of the females and male. "And, as you know, I only got dragged into the club because of the captain … Now she's got someone to torment, who actually _want_ it – everyone is happy!" She forced a smile and looked down at the mathematics; black hair covering her eyes. "… Just … jolly …"

Riku glanced at her friend, doubt written all over her face. "You sure?"

"Of course! Don't worry about me and besides, shouldn't you get to practice yourself – if I remember correctly; you're the new regular; since you did win against me."

"First of all … we didn't even _play_, so no way I could win over you. Secondly; I'm not needed either … She took over the spot. Not that I wanted it in the first place; only wanted revenge for the slap-incident."

"… But were you just thrown off the Regulars team? Or …?"

"Nah." The taller of the two looked at her feet, dangling back and forth. She then grimaced and glared at their new _nemesis_. "Buchou forced me into playing her to see who got the spot … I'm still not sure who she is though …"

"Oh?" Nadjai retorted, raising an eyebrow. She had missed out on a match. "Who won?"

"… I got knocked out after two points."

"…"

Both of them fell silent, concentrating on each of their own things. Nadjai was trying to figure yet another equation – if you could call it that? – While Riku merely looked up at the baby blue sky, a bird flying high above her. But suddenly, as an outburst came not far from them, both of them nearly dropped from the bench; Nadjai even scratched the pencil over the entire page.

"LIKE _WHAT?!_"

The two girls exchanged looks and then, together, looked at the captain and the _freshman ace_. The younger of the girls had stepped back, seeming to be in defensive position, pointing a finger at the reporter. "Like what do you mean? Like, I'm not the girl you're going to interview? Like … there's no other freshman aces at this school! Like I'm the best! Like-"

"Nanao, shut up." Miku commented, massaging her head annoyed. "Let the man finish, will you? You're not looking for her?" Her dark eyes had caught the man's, keeping them locked; wanting an answer - or rather, commanding him to answer.

"I was … searching for a … Fujika Nadjai."

The two friends' mouths dropped and then they stared at each other; Nadjai pointed to herself; Riku to her. "_Nad-jai_?" Both mimed, then looked back again.

"I'm sorry to tell you this …" Miku then continued slowly, having released his eyes and glanced at Nadjai. "But she's not a part of the club anymore-" Hm? Miku actually looked down? Take cover; The Apocalypse is upon us!

"What? She quit? But- I was specially sent here to interview her- is there no way … maybe …?"

"Well, you can always ask her yourself." Miku smirked, bobbing her head in their direction.

"W-what?" He followed the direction of her head and looked at the two, having showed him the right way earlier. "One of them?"

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"Err- so …"

This time, as the two were facing off, Nadjai was eating an apple and _still_ trying to get through her mathematics. But she slowly looked up at him, of course having expected him to pop up. "Hm?"

"So, you're Fujika Nadjai?"

"Maybe …" She answered, taking a bite of the red fruit. Riku rolled her eyes next to them, glancing onto her friend's papers rather than to follow this _interesting_ conversation.

"Well, my boss told me to look for someone short, so-"

_Snap!_

"I'm sorry." Nadjai started off, voice dripping with poisonous honey. "I'm not the person you're looking for …"

Riku hid her face in the math-books, trying to keep the laughter inside.

"Ah … No way … I though-"

"Anyways, I've heard she spends most of her time in the library, studying as the good student she now is." Nadjai's friend joined in, not even looking up. "Of course I'm not sure she'd like to be disturbed, especially since she already quit tennis and won't have anything to do with it I assume."

"You know a lot about her." The reporter started off slowly, catching that something was wrong. "Maybe … I could get a quick interview with you then about her?"

"Ah?" Riku looked up, grinning broadly.

Nadjai's mouth dropped open. Had she planned that from the beginning?

"I'd love to get into a newspaper! Sure you can!" She puffed her friend down from the bench, making room for the man. "Ask away my good sir!"

"Oi, Riku!" Nadjai butted in, crawling up from the ground, head popping up in-between the two. First she glared at her friend. "That wasn't nice!" And … "Who the heck are you anyways?" She then asked, looking at the man. "You can't just come here and think we'd be coorporative or whatnot, without introducing yourself first! Where are your manners?"

"Ah … I'm sorry!" He apologized. "I'm Inoue Mamoru." But then everything suddenly fell into place, the puzzle had been put together. "And … who are _you_?"

Nadjai laughed slowly. "Err-" _Aboard mission! Flee! Change subject! Do something!_ Her mind screamed, as she also had figured out his trap. "I'm- Oi! How can we even be sure you're from some magazine and not just some stalker?!" _Good job! _She high-fived herself in her mind.

But … He pulled out a small card, a picture of himself, with his name and the magazine's too printed onto it with large letters. "_Monthly Tennis_. So, your name?"

"…" _Darn it … "_I'm … well, I am … Shouldn't you rather ask the person you're going to interview? You don't need to know my name! Actually- I don't want to have anything to do with this!"

And with _that_, she quickly ran off.

"… Is she normal?"

"No."

"Ah …"

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_Bock! Bock! Bock! Bock!_

The trio, made up by Niou, Bunta and Jackal, all stared at the girl, hitting the ball back and forth against a wall. Or, they did not really notice _her_ in particular, but the jacket she was wearing, unable to hide her gleeful and proud smile. "Who the heck is that?" Bunta whispered to the two others. "Haven't seen her on the regulars before."

Her smirk broadened.

"Hm, maybe one of the seniors has hurt themselves under practice and she's taking over." Niou answered, not really bothering by it.

"… Or taking over for Nadjai-chan?"

"…"

Their voices subdued, all coming with a silent agreement. _She was there in stead of Nadjai._

"Oh?" The girl suddenly spoke up, having glanced at them from the corner of her eyes. "Are you three like whispering about cute little me or something? Like, that's so adorable!"

Niou buckled over in a fit of laughter at the _blonde _girl, as he had never – ever – seen anyone as preppy as her.

Bunta stared, trying to catch up with the stream of words that had come out of mouth, but … the voice had been too high-pitched to keep up with, so he merely continued chewing the bubblegum.

Jackal just stayed still, composed and did a mental note to take an IQ test; this had at least cost him 50!

"Like, aren't you guys just gorgeous!"

_There goes another 10 …_

She quickly skipped over to them, curly blonde hair flowing in the wind. She smiled what she found to be a cute, irresistible smile, which of course merely made Niou enter another fit.

"Ne, ne? So, like, who are you guys?"

"…"

They just continued staring.

"Who the _heck are you_?" Bunta then decided to ask, blowing a bubble at her face. "And why are you wearing a regular's shirt?"

"Because like I'm the new regular!" She stated, the smirk once again appearing on her face. "That other girl … if she can be called that – like monster – is bye-bye! I've like _taken over_!"

_It really was Nadjai … _They all thought.

"… Why?"

"Like, she was just so not good enough? Like I'm more beautiful than her-"

_That has anything to do with _what_?_

"-and like because she's a stupid girl, who I like have a grudge against and like want to kill and like-"

"Yeah, yeah, sure!" Niou butted in. "Just sip it already; we're not listening anyways." The trickster held up his hands, silencing her. "Now, why don't you go be a good girl and play with the other _regulars_?"

She looked at him, big-eyed and puzzled. "Like … what?"

"Well, you see-" But this time it was Niou, who suddenly got cut off, as the girl just walked them, not giving them a single glance. "O-oi!" Niou made a mental note to put rats in that girl's locker – no one ever ignores him and get away with it! Except Nadjai … she's so brainless that it doesn't matter anyways … The trio all turned and stared after her; then they saw her targets.

Sanada walked by just by then, saving the three from further suffering by Aura of Stupidity, and the freshman regular looked as gloomy as ever, face hitting by his cap. Or … well, maybe a bit gloomier than usual, as someone – or _something_ – was clinging onto his arm, rambling about their FUTURE together.

They slowly made their way over, trying to stay hidden to keep an eye on the soon-to-be clash between freshman-aces. Nadjai was smiling happily, looking as if there was no connection to the upper floor at all; but she quickly froze along with the boy as a yell turned their attention to the blonde.

"_GEN-CHAN!_"

"Here we go …" Riku muttered, stepping into view of the three, seemingly having trailed behind, an adult right after her, writing down everything that was going on. "It has begun …"

And Nadjai tensed …

_So it would seem … _They all laughed nervously.

"Oi, prep-girl, I'm the only one who can call Gen-chan for Gen-chan!" She said, stepping protectively in front of they guy, shielding him from _harms way_. "So why don't you bug off?"

The other stopped up in a defensive stance. "Like, as if!"

"…" Nadjai stared, completely taken aback by the voice. "Wow, that's such a cool voice! You know, you can probably shatter glass with it!"

"…" The girl stared back, insulted beyond belief. "H-how like dare you?!" She _spat_.

"… And that's just disgusting … But-" She gave the blonde a comforting smile. "I guess it's not all who got control over their salvia … it's alright; I bet there's pills against it!"

"…"

"…"

Both fell silent, while Sanada just wondered what the heck he was doing in this school in the first place … But then Nadjai snapped out of it. "Either way, miss _Thing_, who do you think you are, calling Gen-chan that? Who gave you that privilege?"

"Like of course, I did myself!"

"… What the heck?! That _so_ can't do it! You need years of training to even be able to stay near this guy. Not only that, to actually _talk_ to him! If it weren't because I have this fantastic aura around me, he'd probably have jumped you by now – as the wild beast he is – since you absolutely can _not_ call him Gen-chan! You see, I have a certificate so I can do so!"

"…"

Everyone once again laughed nervously; yet this time because of the _Beast_ behind the girls. If Nadjai survived the preppy-clash, she'd never get away alive from Sanada …

"Like of course I can!"

"Oh, really? And _why_?"

"Because he's my fiancé!"

"…"

Nadjai gaped.

Nanao, aka preppy girl, smirked, one-hundred percent satisfied - even though it was obviously a big, fat, lie.

Sanada … Well, Sanada was just _stooooooooned_. Too much information for the poor fellow.

"So …" Nadjai started off. "In what delusional world are you living in?"

She stared. "What do you mean?"

"Now _come on_! First of all, engaged?" She pointed over her shoulder to her so-called friend (whom she had just insulted – a lot!). "To _him_? You sure you aren't talking about someone else? Secondly …" She broke down laughing.

"…"

"L-like- what's so funny?"

"You know, the day I see Gen-chan married to some _thing_ like you; I'd kill myself. It's _SO_ not going to work out. Just- run away while you can!"

"… B-but he really is my fiancé."

"Sure, sure." Nadjai patted the girl on the head, then walked past them. "Keep telling yourself that."

"B-b-b-but-!"

Nadjai merely continued walking, trying to suppress her laughter (failing miserably I might add). Riku shook her head and walked after her; reporter right in tow. Everyone else was just silent, staring at the girl left behind … while she broke down crying.

"I LIKE _HATE_ YOU! I hate you … I hate …"

They all stared. How utmost interesting …

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

"Fine …" She sighed, poking her _homemade_ lunch with disgust – homemade being the key-word – and then looked up onto the male adult, who had been following her like a lost puppy all day.

He cracked a smile, unable to hide his happiness. "Thanks - my boss would kill me elseway!"

"What are you …" She muttered. "A kid or something?"

He sat down on the other side of the bench, facing the two girls in their most favourite time of the day; Lunch Time.

"But you better make it quick …"

"I will! Now … Where to start?" He trailed off, lost in thought.

"At least prepare yourself properly …" She muttered once again, taking her chance and stuck a carrot into her mouth. Survive. _Survive_. And success! She swallowed and was _still _breathing! Her mother had improved! Cheers to her …!

"Okay, full name!"

"… Fujika Nadjai." She stated.

"I see, I see …" He nodded, scribbling down on the block in his hand. "Age?"

"Shouldn't you have investigated this already?" She asked, annoyed by the lame questions. "… Twelve."

"Birthday?"

Her head dropped. "… if you don't ask something interesting I will end this interview and throw you out the window." The guy laughed slowly, wondering if she was telling the truth or just trying to scare him. His eyes locked with Riku's, who were just telling him; _sorry, one hundred percent true … She'll kill you._

"So, tell me, what do you think about tennis?" He asked, hoping it could be more interesting for the girl to answer.

"I hate it." She answered bluntly, eyes dark.

"Huh?"

Not only the reporter, but also Miku stared at her … and the now four guys (Sanada had somehow joined?), hiding nearby. _Hate?_ Well, alright, alright! Sanada didn't stare; he – unfortunately – knew her for too long, so he already knew perfectly well why ...

"But you're part of the regulars in one of the most famous tennis schools in the country. You can't possible _hate_ it-"

"Are you telling me what and what not to hate?" Nadjai retorted, while looking up. She smiled. "I just hate it, that's all. And secondly, I'm not even part of the regulars any more … you know that I take it?"

"Well, yes, Kamiya Nanao has taken over your spot-"

"After me." Riku muttered with a grin.

"But still, you _have_ been a part of it. Then, let me ask, why do you hate tennis?"

"I think it's a waste of time hitting a small, yellow ball back and forth. Of course, there is some entertainment in it, but you get pretty bored of it after a while – or I do, that is. Well … it's not tennis all in all I hate, but more the tournaments. If people play tennis, they should do it for the fun of it; not to join tournaments, beat people and make it all into a competition. That's why I dislike school tennis … they force people who are good at it to join and then beat other people; of course they'd loose the joy of tennis … So, that's why I think tennis is something that should be played by the heart, not just because you can be able to glee in front of beaten opponents." And so she finished he speech, nodding slowly at herself, proud. _Oh yeah, I'm good!_

"N-Nadjai-chan!" Riku wailed out, hugging her best friend.

"… It's Jai …"

"I-I-I-I-"

"You _what_?" She asked, turning her face to look at the other … and what met her? Riku was staring at her with teary eyes, seemlingly adoring her friend.

"I didn't know you could be this deep! Of course; it was pretty much a major stream of words, describing something that could be described with few words – but still! That was deep! I didn't know you had the brain-capacity to actually put your feelings into words! - Of course I expect you to not be able to talk for the next couple of weeks, having used your quote of intellectual worlds ..."

"Are you insulting me or something …?"

"I see …" The reporter nodded. "Well … That might have some truth in it. But don't you believe that some people are actually enjoying playing in tournaments; meeting new players, exchanging techniques and so on?"

"I have no way to answer that question, since I haven't met anyone like that yet – or not what I know off." Her mind wandered of to her own (or ex-) team, mostly on Miku, who had actually gone as far as to poison the other players in order to win. Definitely no … We _play to win_. "Either way … who'd want to exchange techniques with someone from an opposite team – most don't even do it with people from their own, scared they'll fall from the highest peaks."

"But you yourself have competed in tournaments if my research doesn't fail me – and won."

"Yes." She merely stated, continuing to eat.

"You were a part of the Kantou Tournament and the one before too, leading your team to victory – in some rather … questionable wins, I might add of course."

Her eye twitched. So very true … "Yes."

"But that is nothing compared to while you were in elementary-…"

Nadjai froze; along with Sanada, but of course the three at the bench didn't notice. Here it came …

"You were known as-"

"**FUJIKA NADJAI! I CHALLENGE YOU!**"

Everyone in the cafeteria (along with the rest of the school) tensed. What. The. _Heck_? Nadjai merely rolled her eyes, yet somehow praising the nub-cake who had snuck into the headmaster's office to get a hold of the microphone. Well-timed at least!

"**I AM HOLDING GEN-CHAN A HOSTIGAGE; AND IF YOU EVER WANT TO SEE HIM ALIVE AGAIN-**"

The trio looked at the cap-wearing guy, who decided to just forget about it all … It wasn't something for him to worry about anyways. Except he had apparently been kidnapped.

"**-MEET ME AT THE TENNIS COURTS AFTER SCHOOL! IT'S A SHOWDOWN!**"

The outburst from their fellow-freshman suddenly got overrun by the teachers; lead by the principal, storming the office. Then it was all followed by the sound of a window crashing (the chair falling outside the cafeteria too for everyone to see), curses and Nanao's final words of revenge – sweet, sweet revenge. Everyone in the room were silently staring at Nadjai, somehow not really wanting to know what the problem with the tennis-club was _this time_.

"So, you're kidnapped Sanada-kun, I didn't know?" Niou chuckled.

"…"

Nadjai massaged her head slowly; pondering … to go, or not to go – _that_ is the question! Of course her morals told her to go and save her childhood friend (along with her instincts as a woman – never leave a helpless guy in need!), or should she rather stay away and avoid the fight?

"Excuse me …" She stood up and Riku quickly followed. "Sorry, but I really don't have the time to continue with the interview … thanks to the current situation …"

"H-hai …"

"Oi, Nadjai-chan." Riku quickly ran after her. "Are you sure you don't know that girl? She really do seem to hold a grudge against you."

"Now, Riku, do you honestly believe me to be _that_ clueless and stupid? Of course I'd be able to remember her. _If_ I had met her before, that is – which I certainly-" She trailed off.

Riku stared.

"Oh, come on … You GOT be kidding me …"

"What, what?" Riku ran in front of her, blocking her path. "Tell me! It's not like I don't care about cap-guy too!"

"…" Both stared at each other.

"Okay, that was a lie." She admitted. "But I want to know!"

"Fine …" Nadjai sighed. "But …" She lowered her voice to a whisper, forcing the guys to move in closer to hear; thank God the girls didn't have the capacity to use their eyes, as they were now standing right among them. "… this is a secret, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah!" Riku nodded eagerly.

"…" She took a deep breathe …

They all leaned closer.

"She's my ex."

"_WHAT?!_"

Everyone stared once again. Yup, the tennis clubs were up to something once again ...

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

**IHRHC**

… No comment XD well, as some may have noticed this is first part in _Exclusive Interview_, which means the follow-up on the EXTREMELY weird confession will be explained – and the apparently kidnapped Sanada will be rescued. Or will he?

The showdown is about to unfold!

… Ex …

Haha, bet you didn't see that coming.

Now, review! As I've said to some I really, really love to read the reviews since they're helping me to update. It's a way for me to see, that people like it or not – and if I should update all in all.

So, please! PLEASE! Review! The more, the happier I get, and the more updates will come out – and faster too!

Well, of course I got a lot of homework lately; need to write two reports to Tuesday (one being an exam-task, bleh …), but afterwards I have Christmas break, so I'll try to make sure to at least come up with 2 updates there.

So, next one is Exclusive Interview II, and afterwards – the Nationals will emerge!

REVIEW! OR I'LL SEND THE EBIL BUNNY AFTER YOU!

FUFUFUFUFU!

Oh yeah ... my last of two pet bunnies just passed away, so I'm pretty sad at the moment ... So hope you appriciate me updating ...

So, review for the sake of Ninni (and Ninus - my other rabbit), then I'll be happy again. SUPPORT THE BUNNIES IN WORLD DOMINATION!

Ahem ... Ja ne!

I'll take my leave now!


	31. Exclusive Interview II

Yup yup, I'd of course start with thanking all who have reviewed and all in all read my story. Once again, sorry for lame excuses and slow updates, but I'm only human – yeah, okay … Maybe not human, but … err, well …

ANYWAYS!

Here's chapter 31 (we've reached more than 100.000 words, so cheers!); and so many exciting things will unfold.

Exes, kidnapped caps and secrets wait …

Here's the long awaited chapter 31 _Exclusive Interview II_

-Pulls curtain-

Hm … seem to be stuck …

One second then!

-Runs off-

Here we go!

-Throws shoe-

… Holy--!

-Set falls down-

…

I-I'll fix that later I guess …

Enjoy!

-Gets carried away to the hospital-

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

31 – Exclusive Interview II

Normal POV

"…"

They all just stared; mouths wide open, eyes falling out of their sockets and … staring. Plainly staring. But Riku was the first to pull her self together, shaking her head like a wet dog. Then she massaged her temples and looked up at her friend. "There're so many things in this world you just _don't_ want to hear … and _that_ is one of them …"

Nadjai diverted her eyes upon the windows, staring down onto the chair, crashed out over the ground; students having gathered around it. "Well-" She clapped her hands together and turned to face them once again. "Ex and ex- it's such a strong word to use, but I guess it describes it pretty well. Either way-"

She pointed a finger to the four guys.

"What on Earth are you doing, listening in on our conversation?!" She snapped, throwing a tantrum. "That's so not polite; where're your manners?!"

"What ever!" Bunta argued back, slowly taking in the information they had gotten a few seconds earlier. "What's with you, having a _GIRL_ as your ex?! I didn't think you were into- into- well into _that_!"

"First of all … So WHAT if I am! That has nothing to do with any of you- you're not my parents, nor boyfriend. If I like a girl, then I like a girl-!"

They all gasped.

"She admitted it!" They said in chorus.

"Wha- no-! But- s-stop! Okay, okay! SIP IT!"

They stared once again.

"I did not – and I repeat – NOT admit I like another girl! I was young, innocent and had yet to find out about the terrors of the adult world!" Her eyes turned starry as she apparently had turned her gaze into the past. "I knew nothing of love- well, okay, I had already had my crush on Gen-chan, but still … You see-" She glared at them. "I want complete, ABSOLUTE silence if you want me to tell you this, got it?"

They all nodded as the good children they now were, sitting down in front of her on the ground.

"…" She stared. "Ah … Well, Nanao was my best friend back in elementary school-" She once again glared at them – or rather Riku – as the girl opened her mouth to retort, eyes already watering. "As I said _was_ my best friend _back in_ elementary. So don't give me that look- AND STOP INTERRUPTING!"

The boys quickly silenced the girl, continuing with staring up at Nadjai. "Do continue!"

"… Don't tell me what- never mind … Okay, okay! Well, Nanao and I were best friends, sticking together even through Hell-"

"Figured you'd have visited there at least once before …" One of them muttered.

"What was that?" She glared.

"Nothing!" Bunta (already keeping Riku quiet) covered Niou up. "Do continue!"

"As I said, best friend, yack yack, so on and on … We even played tennis together; even though I always beat her with easy – perfect little me, no? – she stayed loyal as the friend she was. Or so I thought … I didn't know her _true_ feelings …" She fell silent for a second, brow furrowed.

"What? Don't tell me you forgot?"

"… Excuse me?"

"Eek!" Bunta was trying to cover up for himself as Nadjai stared at him, but he was _already _keeping Niou and Riku under control. "Jackal; hit me!" The poor fellow – not really knowing, what he was doing there – then got forced to hit his doubles partner. His eyes locked with the story-teller's, as she raised an eyebrow. "Do … continue?" He tried.

She nodded happily. "Right, as I said!" Nadjai quickly gave Jackal the thumps up, but then she continued. "One day we met up to go to lunch together, but she pulled me into an unused room – think it was the place with all the books? Either way; she suddenly confessed that she liked me more than just a friend and, if I didn't see her like that and if I wasn't her _special_ one too, she'd never talk to me again. And so!" She clapped her hands together. "Me, not wanting to loose my best friend – at that time!" She glared at Riku. "Said that I cared for her too … and I went to tell Gen-chan I'd never want to see him again!"

And with that the story ended and Nadjai walked off, leaving the four guys and Riku behind.

"That explains a lot." Sanada muttered, finally having understood why she had suddenly thrown a fit at him back in elementary school. And so he walked off too to get to practice.

"…" Everyone else just stared.

Bunta slowly popped a bubblegum. "Why did I find that story completely messed up?"

"Because _she'_s a part of it?" Niou suggested, somewhat looking shocked too.

"…"

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

"Haha, and then I'll crush her totally … with my new skills … through years of training with the only intention of defeating her … yes … yes … she won't escape … haha … ha … haha … GOD I HATE HER!"

Miku, actually starting to find this whole incident rather annoying and tiring, walked by the girl on the courts, who was swinging a racket against an unknown opponent. "Please keep it a bit down, will you? I'm starting to get a headache." But the girl just continued with her crazy rambling, squishing the poor, yellow ball in her hands.

"Soon …"

"Yeah, whatever."

"Very soon …"

"I said whatever …"

"It's nearing, soon …"

"…" The vice-captain hurried to the captain, trying to safe the soon to be dead freshman.

"Haha … Don't worry, Buchou, she'll soon be out of here-" She tried reassuring, even though she had no idea what the situation was all about – nor did Miku, but that _thing_ was getting on her nerves!

"Ah yeah, you're right." Miku nodded slowly. "Nadjai'd never abandon that Sanada-guy … she'll come and crush that annoying brat." The vice-captain laughed nervously, as Miku's eyes started shining. "And then everything will be back to normal!"

"Y-yeah …"

"I'LL CRUSH HER!"

"**SHUT. UP!**"

All the other regulars were in the middle of praying in a corner for Nadjai to arrive soon …

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

Sanada slowly walked by, not even bothered by half the female tennis-team jumping their captain as the last-mentioned was on the verge of killing the freshman. "**Let go of me! I'll kill her! I swear!**"

"…" He placed his bag on the bench and sat down, checking his shoe-laces. A few curses were heard and a racket flew past his ear, yet he continued ignoring it and in stead found his own racket. "No-brainers …" He muttered.

But then …

Everyone turned their heads as a cloud of dust was approaching with lightning speed. "YOU LITTLE-!" All the members of the tennis club went for cover; with the exception of Miku of course, who stood with spread arms, ready to welcome the girl.

"Nadjai!" She sang out. "I've missed you!"

But the mentioned girl just passed her without a glance towards her former captain, but steered right towards the other freshman, tackling her in a wrestler grip. "Hand over Gen-chan!"

All the members in the middle of hiding glanced towards Sanada, who was _still _just sitting on the bench, ignoring them all.

"No way!"

"Yes way!"

"… You can't say that …"

"…"

And so they both sat in each their corner pondering about proper grammar … Everyone else just had a massive eye twitch. What. The. Heck? But then they were back at it, with Nadjai pulling Nanao's hair rather violently, and the other trying to scratch the nearest couple of eyes out. "_YES WAY_!" This continued for a while and the regulars were all making bets with Joruni about who'd win – most were on Nadjai, but the twins had better on both for safety precautions?

"Fine!" Nanao exclaimed, finally managing to push the other girl off of her after a knee in the opponent's stomach. "He's right over there!" She pointed to Sanada, who – as always – ignored them. They'd go away sooner or later and in stead wondered why he had a stick in his back. Fumbling to reach it he, without knowing, made it all worse.

"Why are his hands on his back?!" Nadjai gasped. "You've tied him up? How dare you!"

The tennis-players glanced at Sanada, who threw the stick away with no cares in the world. Life is just jolly, no?

"Well- I …" Nanao was thrown of course for a second, but quickly returned. "Yes. Yes! I have! With cuffs even; and only if you fight me shall I hand over the keys!"

Nadjai gasped. "Not the … the … c-cuffs!"

"Oh yes! The cuffs!"

"NUUUUUUUUUUUH!"

Shortly after they stood on courts, Nadjai pointing her racket at Sanada. "Don't you worry Gen-chan, I'll get you out of those horrible cuffs in no time! Don't worry!"

Everyone twitched again and looked at each other. "Does she have traumas against cuffs or something?" The all wondered out together.

And then the match of titans had begun …

"SUPER-ULTRA-INCREDIBLE SERVE!" Nanao yelled, having won the fight for first serve, posing as a Power Ranger (copyrighted!) and then sending a nearly invisible serve towards the other.

"Too easy!" Nadjai retorted, closing her eyes. "It may be invisible, but I can still hear it!" And so she stood in her very own Power Ranger (copyrighted!) stance, ready to return it.

And so the poor, POOR yellow ball got once again slung across the court with high speed. "Ha! You call that a hit? My grandmother can do better than that!"

"… I thought your grandmother had died?"

"…"

Both stared at each other.

"How cruel!" Once again Nanao broke down crying. "Why'd you have to remind me?!" But she once again sent the ball back in reflex, making the regulars wonder the two girls' sanities … more. "Don't you dare mention her in my presence! You're too filthy to carry her name in your mouth!"

"Oi?! She liked me more than you! Did you ever get cookies on Christmas? Let me answer that!" She lunged for the ball and hit it with ease. "No! You didn't – but I _did_. So don't _you _dare speak about her!"

Once again everyone watched Sanada, as his eyes fell upon his shoe-lace. Apparently it had gone up again, so he bended over to reach it.

Of course Nadjai noticed this …

"Is he cramped up in pain too now?! What did you give him?! I really do hate you-"

"SHUT UP!"

"…" Everyone fell silent and looked at the two girls. Nadjai had it seemed tripped in shock and lay on the ground, facing the other girl. Nanao on the other hand was still standing, tightly gripping the racket. "I will not listen to another word you say, you stupid, evil, back-stabbing wanna-be Power Ranger (copyrighted!)!"

Nadjai gasped again. "Na- Nanao …"

"You have no idea how I've felt. You said you'd always be my friend and have no one but me in your heart … but you lied! You promised, but you didn't keep your word. You're so cruel …" Her head dropped, long blonde hair hiding her eyes. "So cruel …"

Nadjai merely sat there, not quite sure what to feel. Somehow, deep, deep down in what most people would call ash was her lifeless heart and it felt … guilt? Pity? She looked at the other girl, who was just standing there, crying. "Nanao …" She whispered slowly, standing up with the help of her racket. Then she walked slowly over to the net, not taking her eyes of the girl. "I'm …"

Everyone held their breathe. Was Nadjai actually going to be _nice_ to the person, who had kidnapped Sanada?!

Sanada? Well, he was still wondering what was wrong with the shoe-laces …

"… I have …" She placed her hands on the net and leaned over. "… Never seen anyone as emo as you. I mean, COME ON! Get over it. It's not like I was _the One_; I'm sure you'd be able to find someone else if you tried. But nooooooo! You absolutely have to be as wacko as you now are and plan a way to get revenge and waste your youth on that? Oh please …" She backed off again. "Now I see why I never did like you that way …"

"…" As expected …

After that something highly UNEXPECTED happened. As Nadjai slowly walked back to her spot and picked the ball up on the way, Nanao started glowing faintly. Everyone stared, gaping, and Miku nearly jumped Zen (who somehow had decided to watch too). "It's Muga no Kyōchi!" She exclaimed. "She can use it too!"

The rest of the regulars just merely continued staring, having no idea what their two captains got so hyped up over. "The _what _now?"

"The State of Self Actualization." Zen translated, feeling all wise and mighty.

"… Like that's of any help."

"It's a state that only really, really skilled players can acquire … who'd have known she was this good?" Miku answered and trailed off, eyes shiny. "Maybe I shouldn't be too hard against her …"

"Isn't this …" Bunta slowly started. "The same thing as Nadjai released at the Kantou Tournament?"

"Yes." Miku answered.

"Then there's no problem!" The Strawberry Guy exclaimed. "I just got worried for a second, but Nadjai got it covered …"

"Don't look down on me!"

Nadjai sighed and twirled the racket in her hands. "My, my … I can't help it; you _are_ shorter than me ..." She said, slightly raising an eyebrow at the other. "So you decided to unlock it? I'm flattered …" Then she smirked and she, herself, started glowing. "Too bad that you've chosen the wrong opponent; I'll always be stronger than you." And she did her … Power Ranger (copyright!) stance once again. "Bring it …!"

… And so she spoiled the extremely cool moment …

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

"There. Happy?"

"No."

"… You are starting to tick me off."

"And I still hate you, so what?"

"Have you always been this annoying?"

"Yes."

"… Ok."

"Got a problem with it?"

"Not really."

Riku walked up next to all the others, who were still hiding though there was no reason. "So they're finally done with it?"

"Where have you been?" Yukimura asked his _beloved_ cousin.

"I went for lunch." She said, nodding slowly. "I figured it'd take ages for them to finish; so I might as well use my time on something useful in stead of this …" Then she casually walked over to the two, making everyone discover the reporter, still trailing after her. He looked down upon them all, looking slightly confused.

"Who are you?" They all asked in chorus.

"But I still think you're stupid."

"Same to you."

"Dad's just got a new flavour in …"

"Oh?"

"Yeah, it's really delicious."

"I'd love to taste that."

"I'm sure we could figure a way for you to do that."

"Sounds nice …"

"Yeah …"

Both looked blankly at each other with Riku in-between, waiting for a reaction. "So, you two idiots, how are you?" She then asked, waiting for them to throw themselves at each other with daggers. "Who won?"

Both stared at her, giving her the 'are you stupid or something'-look. "What do you think?"

"…"

Nadjai rolled her eyes at the girl. "Of course I did, silly."

"Yeah, what did you expect?" Nanao joined in. "How stupid can you be?!"

Then the two, once enemies, looked at each other again and smiled. "So, ice cream?"

"Yup!"

"Nice!"

And so they cuddled up against each other, making all living beings within a radius of fifty miles to throw up. Riku just stared. How utmost disturbing! "O-kay …"

"What happened?" The reporter decided to ask the innocent witnesses.

"Err … Nanao unlocked the … what was it now?" Bunta asked Jackal.

"The State of Self Actualization."

"Yeah, yeah, that one. And then Nadjai unlocked it too …"

"The State of Self Actualization."

"Yeah. And then she beat up miss Preppy Girl with …"

"The State of Self Actualization."

"Right."

"Ah, yes. I remember having heard she was able to unlock the doors … that's why she was called Puffy Headed Ace Killer with the Golden Glow."

"…" They all stared. _Puffy Headed_?

Nadjai's eye twitched, as she heard it too. "Hehe …" She laughed nervously and then stared at the reporter. "Did you _have_ to bring that up?! I was only called it because my mom had given me a homemade haircut …"

"I think you looked good with it …" Nanao chirped in.

"Thanks-!"

"Now, ice cream, ice cream!"

"Yay!"

The regulars watched as the two now suddenly good friends skipped past them, leaving Riku behind. She stared at first, sort of … bothered by it all. "Did I just … get dumped." Everyone else nodded. "…" Her eye twitched. "Oi! Wait for me!"

"So … no interview?" The reporter asked, holding up the note book.

"No." They all answered.

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

"Your name is-"

"-Tanaka Miku, yes."

"And you're-"

"-The captain of the girls' team here at Rikkai Dai, yes."

"At least let me finish asking questions before-"

"-answering, yes."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"**Stop that.**"

"Yes-"

"-ma'am, yes."

"…"

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

Finally! The IHRHC.

Took a long time to get here, didn't it?

Sorry for the slow updates, but I've had trouble in school and stuff like that ... Well, I prefer not to talk about it, so let's skip :)

Now, I don't know if you guys liked it or not; but at least I updated - seems like I've lost The Gift of Writing, because I feel like i'm no good. Either way, do review please ...

Ja ne!


	32. The Nationals

Ta da!

As usual I can't answer reviews unless I do it personally and answer them through the review-page that is ... But THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Keep up reviewing please ...

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

32 – The Nationals

Normal POV

Our story's heroine walked casually down the yard to school, aiming for the doors into the institute for higher learning, whistling by herself. Yet once again was a normal day here at Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku.

_Smack!_

Everyone nearby ignored the sound and quickly hurried away, as the freshman ace of the tennis team was knocked unconscious by a passing tennis ball. As she fell through the air in slow-motion, the ball bouncing off her head, the rest of the schoolyard had been emptied.

… They knew what would come.

"Nice hit."

"Thank you."

Niou and Bunta came walking over to the girl, who was now sprawled out over the ground. The sliver-haired boy twirled a racket in his hand and bend over to pick up the ball. In the meanwhile the other poked Nadjai with a foot, checking if she was completely unconscious. And with that they each grabbed an end and dragged the girl off with them to … wherever they now dragged her …

_Bump!_

The next thing she noticed was herself sitting on a bench, Nanao squeezed next to her. Both stared at each other. "… Hi?"

"'ello."

As she looked around, she noticed they weren't the only ones there. Somewhere cramped in a corner were the rest of the regulars, vice-captain in the middle of speaking – yet it certainly did look like no one was listening.

And … Riku was sulking in a corner.

"Err …?" She started off slowly, not quite sure if she even _wanted_ an explanation.

"Good, I see they brought you here!"

Nadjai instantly crept over in the corner to Riku. "WAH! The demon is here!"

Miku's eye twitched furiously as she walked past the third of the freshmen, still sitting on the bench as she had been told. "Can't you ever just act normally …?" She muttered.

"What's with that?" Nadjai retorted. "I bet it was you who hired those assassins to bring me here! Haven't you ever heard of just asking people normally? Oh wait, I forgot … you aren't normal."

Once again the captain looked like she was about to burst into flames, but she took a deep breath and actually managed to calm down. "Ah … Well …" Her eyes shifted nervously, but then she looked back, annoyed. "I'd like for you to return as one of the regulars."

"…" Nadjai stared. "Excuse me?"

"Come back to the regulars!"

"Hm, not the correct use of words I'd say."

"… Please?"

"Please what?"

"Please come back to the regulars."

"Because?"

"Because we … need you."

"And?"

"… I think we'll stick with the preppy girl …" Miku muttered, turning on her heel. All the other regulars had a common sigh at their captain.

"Just swallow your pride, Buchou."

"Iwasaki, sip it!"

"Why don't you stick with Nanao? She can use Muga no Kyōchi too and nearly equal to me." She quickly thought about it. "Okay, she's not equal to me, but still … her standards are at your level."

"…"

"The pride, Buchou!"

"Iwasaki!"

Miku massaged her temples, trying to calm herself. This was starting to get really annoying. Maybe she really should follow Iwasaki's advice … it wouldn't be that hard to … beg the younger girl. Okay … she was a senior, so … Yeah, it was a problem! "Please?"

"Hm …" Nadjai too pondered the situation. "Well … I guess I could-"

"Really?!"

"-IF you'll do something for me." The younger of the two smirked devilishly. _This _was going to be FUN! She watched as her former captain was very hesitant about answering. "Haha, of course not something weird or anything – I'd never do something like that …"

Everyone thought the same. _Liar, liar, pants on fire._

"I just want you to …" She fell silent.

"What?"

"Promise to never, EVER make me run laps again!"

Miku fell silent. But … that was her most efficient weapon …! Her eye twitched. Too get the freshman ace back and have a better chance of winning the Nationals, yet loosing a perfect torture? Or go with the other annoying brat, having less of a chance of winning, BUT keeping the torture method?

Just then Nanao spoke up, settling it all. "Oh? I broke a nail …! How _fun_!"

"Alright, fine! If you join the regulars – and won't leave it again as long as there's a captain! – I will never force you to do laps ever again."

"Deal!"

Both shook hands; Nadjai happy to have escaped the worst fate ever (laps are DOOM!) didn't notice a certain, infamous smirk spread across Miku's face. She had put more than _one_ trap in that sentence …

"Good!" She raised her hand and motioned her second-in-charge over. "Iwasaki?"

"Y-yes?" Miku quickly whispered something into her classmate's ear and then walked cheery off. _Life is just GREAT!_ Iwasaki, after having received orders, looked at Nadjai – who was still celebrating her victory – and sadly spoke up. "Nadjai-chan …"

"Yup?" The younger of the two beamed up.

"... I'm sorry, but …"

"Mhm?"

"I have to order you to do … 200 laps."

Nadjai gaped.

"YOU TRICKED ME!"

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Yukimura was just slightly uncomfortable.

Well, alright, that was a lie. He was _highly_ uncomfortable.

Or maybe he wasn't?

His brow furrowed slightly as he pondered this new idea.

Wasn't he?

Riku strangulated him even more.

Yes, fine, he _was_ uncomfortable. But not just _that_.

Maybe it's time to explain what was going on to make our sadistic princess feel this way?

First of all, as earlier mentioned, Riku was in the middle of hugging him to death, as she herself got more and more annoyed. "I can't believe her …" She muttered slowly, not taking her eyes of the target. "Don't you agree?"

"Indeed!" Nanao said, looking – if not more – annoyed. "And even in public!"

All three of them were sitting at a bench in the cafeteria, in the middle of eating their lunch. Okay, Yukimura had _tried_ to eat his lunch; the two others were just there to spy on a certain someone, sitting a few benches away. Who, you might wonder? This certain someone was none other than the once again proclaimed freshman ace of the Rikkai Dai tennis team.

Nadjai was, though, completely unaware of the looks of death being sent her way, as she was hugging yet another person to death. "Ne, Gen-chan! I made lunch for you!" She said, while trying to give him a heart shaped melon. "Say _ah_!"

"No thanks." He just said, trying to read his math book. "I'd rather not."

"Wah?! Gen-chan, so mean!" She tried stuffing it into his mouth, but he agile dodged it every single time, not moving his eyes from the paper. "I used all morning on it and everything! Just taste! _Taste!_"

She pouted and in the end ate it herself.

"Look at them!" Riku exclaimed, pulling her own hair. "I can't stand this any longer!" Then she looked Yukimura straight into the eye. "Seiichi!"

"… What?"

"N-now-" She tried speaking through gritted teeth. "Go over and interfere!"

"…"

"Don't just sit there! It's your future wife being snatched away by some other guy!"

"…"

"_Oi_?!" Nanao suddenly joined the conversation. "What do you mean _future wife_?" She glared at Yukimura, who was only partly listening to their bickering – since he was still pondering about the uncomfortable thing … "Him?!" She stuck a finger into his face. "I don't think so! She's mine!"

"That's just gross …"

"What the heck?!"

"No way that she's yours!"

"Like she's yours either!"

"Bug off!"

"Bug off yourself!"

Both glared at each other. Yukimura? Well, he had suddenly gotten an idea … Yes, he was feeling quite uncomfortable, but there was something else too, when he was looking at Nadjai and Sanada.

"_EAT IT!_"

"No thank you."

"… Idiot."

Nadjai's eye twitched and then angrily ate the rest of the food within seconds. "Fine … if you don't want it- I hope you'll starve!" She then pouted and stuffed the little box into her bag. Then she stood up and coldly glared at Sanada.

Two seconds later she was back at hugging him.

"Aw, I can't be mad at you!"

"… Wish you could."

"…"

Just then the bell rang and Nadjai jumped to her feet, only to find herself being …

"_NADJAI-CHAN!_"

_Smack!_

Both Yukimura and Sanada watched as the girl got tackled by two others, making every single one of them drop to the ground in a pile.

"You love me right?"

"You love Seiichi right?!"

"You-"

"Mhmm!" Nadjai tried commenting it all, but having her face crushed onto the floor made it quite … impossible.

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"So, here's the line-up." Miku started off slowly, looking at the carefully planned line-up for the first match in the Nationals. Iwasaki stood next to her, seemingly rather tired (she had been kept up by someone to finish it). "There are no changes actually … So, it's like this!" She smiled sweetly, creeping them all out.

"Doubles 2-"

"Honestly …" Tamafune said slowly, sighing.

"Let's have fun." Yayoi smiled at her doubles partner.

"Doubles 1-"

"Expected." Shinobu rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, figured …" Shioko walked away to train with her twin.

"Singles 3-"

"Do I have to?" Iwasaki got dragged of by Joruni to practice.

"Singles 2-"

"Screw you …" Nadjai said, not being in the best mood.

"And singles 1-"

Everyone send Nadjai a pitiful look, as the girl was forced into practicing with Miku.

"I love you too."

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"THE WINNERS WILL BE HYOTEI!"

The male regulars were the first to step out of the bus with Zen in charge. Sanada was grumpy as usual, if not more (Nadjai ate _his_ lunch too), Renji was collecting data without looking and Yukimura was unfazed with everything.

"I thought we had beaten those guys already …" Zen muttered, as they all watched the Hyotei team walk past them, sending poisonous looks their way.

"Hm …" His vice-captain quickly skimmed through the papers of the competitors. "Seems like they got in, through the drawing slots; along with some other insignificant team."

"Ah."

The regulars all walked over to hand in the form and sign up. Afterwards it was already time for their first match … against Hyotei. They all sighed as they faced off against the screaming fan girls (and boys) – again. Everyone suddenly heard a life-draining scream as the cheering from Rikkai Dai had arrived with a second bus. They all stared as Bunta scratched the doors, trying to get in again. "Hurry! OPEN!"

"What's with him?"

But as a cloud of dust approached, orange hair spotted, they all knew why. His _boyfriend _had arrived. "For the love of God!"

"Marui-sama!"

"…" Zen stared. "How interesting. Let's move on shall we?"

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"Alright, so we're against …" Miku glanced down upon the paper. "…"

The rest of the team stared, waiting for their captain to give out orders.

"Buchou?" Iwasaki tried slowly.

Miku's eye twitched, making everyone back off right away.

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"THE WINNERS WILL BE HYOTEI!"

"So we meet again." The opposing captain said, smirking broadly.

"I can't believe you people." Zen answered, shaking hands. "To think that you actually joined for the Nationals too … you do know we'll just beat you again, right?"

"…" He stared. "No you won't."

"Oh?"

"We've practiced!"

"Good for you …" The _stoic_ captain of Rikkai Dai walked back to the others, pointing towards the courts. "Go crush them … and show that you don't need practice when you got the natural born talents."

Sanada corrected his cap before picking up his racket and walked to court, Renji right after, eyes closed as always and _looking _towards the opponents (even though that shouldn't really be possible).

The two other people, who had been sacrificed to play against these two, tensed drastically as they shook hands. "L-let's have a good match."

"Let's." Renji answered, while Sanada just … gave them the silence-treatment.

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"C-captain, is something wrong?!" Iwasaki's shaking voice was heard across the ground, as she hurried to aid her captain. But she was too late, as the taller of the two seniors staggered and fainted, freaking them all out.

"Captain?!"

The paper she had been holding in her hands fluttered towards the ground, landing peacefully. Nadjai, partly glancing towards the elder girl, bend over and picked it up. "Hm …"

_Ogasawara Gakuen._

She grinned. "Interesting."

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"So, who's our next opponent?" Yukimura smiling asked the captain, asking what everyone else wondered; yet didn't dare ask – the captain seemed to be in a foul mood suddenly. But would the princess be faced by that? Of course not!

"…"

As they walked off to get a break before the next matches started, Hyotei was once again packing their stuff together to leave in the background, half of the members unconsciously being carried to their bus. Zen really had been telling the truth … there had been no reason for them to participate: complete defeat.

"Hm?" Zen suddenly looked back, noticing someone talking to him. "You said something?"

"Who's our next opponent?"

"Ogasawara Gakuen."

"EH?" All the seniors stared at their captain. "You mean- _the _Ogasawara Gakuen?"

"Yup."

Everyone else just stared dumbfounded on the seniors. "Who …?"

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"Now I understand." Joruni laughed, nudging Nadjai's cheeks for the heck of it. "Poor captain, the shock was probably too much for her."

"O-oi! Sempai, please stop it!" Nadjai hissed, trying to be polite – failing miserably by the tone of her voice. "It hurts!"

Joruni merely stretched her cheeks even further.

"A-a-auch!" In self-defence she kicked her senior over the shin with a foot and quickly dodged the hand launching out after her. "Bleh!" Nadjai stuck out her tongue annoyed. Joruni glared, but shook it off. "Anyways, old hag … What's with the captain?"

Miku was sitting, staring onto the ground, her entire face pale. The vice-captain was trying to make her drink something, but failed miserably. Joruni laughed slowly, looking down upon Nadjai. "Well … let's just say that she's not very fond of the students from Ogasawara."

"Why?"

"You see-"

_Bock!_

"Enough, Joruni."

"E-eh, ah … captain."

Miku rolled her eyes and stood up. "There's nothing wrong, I just didn't get anything to eat this morning so I lacked some energy. I'm fine …" She glared and Joruni and then upon Nadjai. "There's nothing going on with Ogasawara, so don't worry your little head with that … you'd probably just a have a meltdown anyways."

"… Oi …!"

"Hey you guys!"

"GEN-CHAN!"

"Oh for the love of-"

_Smack!_

He had no chance of escaping. No way out. She had seen him … And so Sanada found himself being cuddled to death by Nadjai. "I missed you!" The rest of the male regulars walked towards the girls, watching them approach.

"Guess who our next opponent is!" Zen greeted Miku with a smirk.

"… Do I want to know?"

"No. And so I shall tell you! Ogasawara!"

"Us too."

"Eh, really?" He stared at her. "Then … it's … but … her. _Her!_"

"Yeah."

"…"

"…"

"Who's _her_?" Nadjai asked, popping up between them.

"None of your business, Lumpy, you just got to beat them anyways."

"… I don't really want to know actually …"

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_Dam- dam- da-da-dam! _Nadjai was tapping a foot against the pavement, listening to some unknown goth-stuff she had stolen from one of the twins and drinking a brick of juice. She had in the end given up on getting the truth about the Ogasawara School and now just followed the stream to see where it brought her.

"_I wanna assassinate the Panda-__!"_

Her brow furrowed, pulling out the ear-plugs. "What the heck is this …?" But none the less she put them back in.

"_Can I kill it now?"_

"…"

"… Is that my iPod?" Shioko asked, grimacing as she noticed the small music-player in the younger girl's hand.

"Maybe …" She took them out again, looking up at her senior. "But what sort of stuff is this- and what has the panda ever done to you?"

"The panda is an evil animal that will try and take over the world as soon as the opportunity shows." Shioko said with a straight face.

"Really?!"

"No …"

"Oh … then what?"

"It's just a song. I like the tune."

"What tune? People screaming into a microphone?"

"…"

"**Nadjai, stop pestering your elders and get over here!**"

"I don't want to. And I'm pestering no one!"

"**Now!**"

Rolling her eyes, Nadjai walked up and over to the captain, who was in the middle of discussing something with Zen; the rest of his members spread over the green lawn. "What?" She asked, just a bit annoyed. "I was in the middle of listening to the murdering of a panda …"

Both stared. "Sometimes I think you're sick." Zen decided to state.

She stared. "It- but- what?!"

Miku just waited for them to finish their little rant and in stead watched as a pinkish-haired guy fled across the grass, another boy right after him. In the end he fled up into a tree and hang there with his head down, yelling at the other to go away. "Are you guys done?"

"It wasn't mine-!"

"… Apparently not." And so she watched Bunta continue acting like a cat, having the rest of the male tennis players watching in amusement. She rolled her eyes and knocked both the arguing people. "Cut it out. Lumpy-"

She hissed. "What?!"

Both just stared at her.

"… what?"

"Hm, never mind. It's too late …"

"_Oi, Miku-chan!_"

"And Ogasawara has arrived." Zen grimaced, motioning for his members to gather up. "Hurry up you guys."

Miku let out a sharp whistle, urging her own players to come. Everyone gathered up, curiously looking in the direction of the two captains. And true enough, the next opponents had arrived; a tall, skinny girl running ahead of the rest, yelling out and waving. "Miku-chan!"

Nadjai just stared as her captain got crushed in a hug; even though the girl was looking as if there were no muscles in her body, the demon's lungs were quickly emptied from all air. "Oi, get off of me."

"You guys finally made it to the Nationals, I'm so happy! I nearly thought you'd get beaten again this year – seems like even idiots can improve!" She continued smiling, yet sending insults at them all without knowing. "And now we can play each other and we can beat you as we've always done, that's so great!"

"…" Nadjai stared, yet then she drank the last bit of her juice and walked away for a trashcan. It was something between the 3rd years it seemed, so she should just as well mind her own business.

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_Bock! Bock! Bock! Bock!_

"'Sup Seiichi-kun?" Nadjai asked as she noticed the boy standing not far away from her, hitting the ball towards the wall time after time. He slowly looked towards her and smiled, still hitting the ball yet without looking.

"Hello."

"I thought you were with the rest of the group?"

"I wanted to warm up a bit." He smiled at her – that special smile … sending chills down her spine. _Am I getting killed as the panda too?_ She pondered, yet decided to dig deeper.

"You could've warmed up with someone."

"I wasn't in the mood."

"Hm …" She looked around. "What'd you do with Riku and the other- what's her name … Nanao-"

"She have been your best friend for a long time and you forget her name?" He interrupted with a grin.

"I can't even figure out the difference between left and right …"

"Hm …"

Both fell silent and watched the movement of the tennis ball.

"So, what happened to them?"

"…" He didn't answer but the smile got even more sadistic.

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"Is anyone there …?" Riku called out in the darkness. "Helloooooooo?"

"Oh shut up, no one's gonna find us here …"

"I'm sure Nadjai-chan will come safe us."

"You honestly believe that?"

"Not really … but I'm happy."

"Why are you happy being locked up in a dark, mysterious room …?!"

"Well actually. Since I'm with you …"

"Are you hitting on me?"

"What do you think?"

"I hope not."

"No, it's because you're here … that means Seiichi is all alone with her, no one to stand in his way."

"… You really are sick."

"… I don't care, I'm going to be the best man."

"Aint that a guy …?"

"…"

"And I honestly think someone's going to interfere."

"I doubt it."

"Oh really?"

"You got some beautiful eyes."

"It's dark and don't change the subject."

"You do …"

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"Want me to warm up with you?"

"Did you bring a racket?" He looked her over, noticing that she definitely didn't have one – unless she'd hide it somewhere extremely odd. She shook her head, making him sigh. "Alright, you can borrow mine."

She looked at him, blankly. "You're sweet yet strangely scary."

"…"

"…" She blinked confused. "Did I say something wrong?"

"You know, let's rather just get back now."

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They stopped up at the courts.

Petrified.

The score-board said it all.

"It … can't be."

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So, here's a short update, hope it's alright x.x I'm sad right now because I just saw a film where someone who looked like Eiji died ... u.u

Well, I'm also happy actually ... I've found out there's just a sequel to Prince of Tennis started! I've read the first chapter - 59 pages of FUN! It's called Shin Tennis no Oujisama! I'm so happy that there's another one coming up - it gives me new energy to continue my writings. If of course there's still someone reading 'em ...

So please do review!

See you all!

IHC over and out!


	33. Defeat

Hey all! The newest Prince of Tennis manga has so much given me strength to continue – to see Ryoma in his leather jacket- rawr! Hehe … and their new uniforms are HOT too. But enough of that …

This chapter here is going to be rather short compared to the others I've written, but that's because I'm only writing about two matches against the Ogasawara and after that I'm not sure if I'll make one more chapter before the final one – or if 34 will be the final chapter of their first year. We'll see!

I can finally kick out my OC's and then it's just Nadjai and all the _awesome_ regulars left. –wink wink-

Enjoy!

And thank you the two who reviewed! – This is dedicated to you!

(And I'll remember zip and fazed! – Nearly spelled zip with an n -.-' hehe)

… this is sort of cliché actually, now I think about it. But you'll see when you read!

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**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

33 – Defeat

Normal POV

Both the girls from doubles 2 were exhausted holding onto each other, horror written in their faces. The shorter of the two was defiantly holding onto her racket, even though she had no strength left to hold it; the other's though was lying on the ground, few inches from the final ball …

"What is _this_?" Nadjai stared, Yukimura next to her wondering the same. Her eyes fell upon the ball and then they darted to the scoreboard again. _6-1_. How on Earth were they able to be defeated _that_ badly? "It's not possible." She knew those girls, she knew what they were capable off … there'd be no way they could even _loose_, but this? It was too much. They had managed to get one set and then the utmost defeat?

She ran down the stairs towards the other regulars; noticing they were all looking gloomy. There was no shock written in their faces though … rather it seemed they had been expecting it.

"What is this?" Nadjai repeated, stopping near the coach's bench where Miku was parked. The captain was just staring blankly at the two girls on court. "Buchou?" She demanded. "How did we loose?"

Miku ignored her and stood up.

"Buchou!" She called out, still receiving no answer.

Miku kneeled in front of the two girls, looking them straight into the eye. Then she started whispering something to them, making Tamafune burst out crying yet smiling at the same time. The leader patted her shoulder and helped them stand up. As the two limped towards the other regulars; all waiting to greet them, Miku picked up the left-behind racket and glanced towards the Ogasawara members. "My turn …" She then whispered.

Iwasaki was the first to comfort the girls. "It's alright you two … you did your best and you know it. There's still a chance for us." Tamafune wiped off her tears and hugged her doubles partner. Yayoi shook her head as both of them sat down to rest. "You did your best, remember that."

Nadjai looked at the two, the thought of defeat finally dawning on her. There was only one way they could have lost. She looked towards the Ogasawara … _They_ were better. She bit her lip, not wanting to believe they'd loose this – she'd go all the way with Rikkai Dai; they'd win!

Her eyes glanced towards the scoreboard again, grimacing. There really would be no chance of winning … she watched the singles 3 outcome and saw the vice-captain had nearly pulled it off, having the match end at 7-5. They couldn't win … or …?

"Singles 2 will now begin-" The referee called out, making her snap out of the trance. Everyone looked at her as she stood up, looking around for her racket. Her eyes fell over the two defeated doubles players and she felt her heart sink. Would she be able to win this …? "Tanaka Azumi vs. Tanaka Miku."

Nadjai's brow furrowed. _When did I change my name?_

"Captain?!" Iwasaki stared at the captain, who was still standing on the court, holding onto the racket. "We decided you were singles 1 so you wouldn't have to face off against her!"

"Sorry." Miku said, looking back at them and smirked. "I might just have lied about that one?"

Iwasaki dropped to the ground. "But …"

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Zen looked at the scoreboard, trying to hold back chuckling. There honestly was something about those freshmen … He shook his head as Yukimura walked off court, not even out of breathe.

So far, the last year's champions were loosing their first two matches with 6-2 and 6-0. His eyes fell upon Yukimura, who was heading straight towards him – and _that smile_ nearly gave him the chills too.

The thing about the freshmen would probably be … a scary thing, he concluded.

"I thought you said they were tough opponents." Yukimura stated, putting away his racket.

"…" He didn't even answer but motioned the doubles 1 to get onto court. "Let's finish it …" He looked at the clock, ticking ahead. "We might still make it to her match …"

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The other girl smiled happily. "Hi Miku-chan!"

"Bug off." The Rikkai captain answered annoyed, shaking hands with Azumi.

"I really did think you would send someone in your place … but apparently not."

Rolling her eyes, Miku trudged away. "Who cares …"

Nadjai glared at Iwasaki.

The elder girl fidgeted uneasily at the stare she got send. "W-well, Nadjai-chan … what- what is it?"

She continued glaring.

"Uhm …"

"Who is Ogasawara, what is captain's relationship with them and … why am I not singles 2?"

Iwasaki looked around to somewhat divert the younger girl's attention. "Well … Ogasawara …" She trailed off, watching as Miku had won the right to the first serve and was prepared herself. "Are last year's champions, both the female and male team won with ease – we played against them last year too, but lost without even getting one point. Buchou … As you might have noticed they have the same last name, those two." She motioned to Miku, who was still glaring at the other, smiling girl. "They're cousins and Buchou has never been able to defeat Azumi-san."

"Go, captain, you can do it!" Joruni called from the side-line.

"I guess you're not singles 2-" The vice-captain continued, watching the first ball get slung over the net; the match had begun. "-because Buchou wants revenge for the last defeat …" She trailed off once again and didn't seem like she'd get started again, so Nadjai decided to watch the match again.

_You can do it, captain …_She thought in her mind. _I believe in you!_

It didn't seem like Miku was holding back at all with the first serve, as it crossed the net in a blur; the speed nearly impossible for the human eye to spot. Azumi returned it with ease though, not even bothering to look at the racket nor ball. Her gaze was fixed upon Miku all the time, smiling as always.

"You still have a way to go." Azumi said.

Miku rolled her eyes and returned the ball. "Just shut up and loose already."

"My, my …"

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"Out. 5-2 to Ogasawara." The referee called out, just as the ball landed a few inches from the white line. Miku glared at the ball, as if mind-controlling it to roll inside.

Everyone else just stared, hoping for a miracle and that the match would be turning around. In the beginning, little by little, the opponent had gaining the advantage and in the end Miku hadn't been able to score any points whatsoever. The guys from Rikkai Dai had turned up ten minutes ago as they somewhat had managed to totally destroy their opponents and were now watching the match along with the girls.

Iwasaki had fainted long ago, unable to bear the tension any longer and had just given up even trying. The rest of the regulars were also on the edge of joining her, but they stayed strong to support their captain in this hard, hard time! … They were even practicing their supportive talk, when she would loose …

"40-0."

Everyone moaned in displeasure; this was not good, that was for sure.

Miku clenched her teeth. "Cheh …!" She looked down upon her racket, twirling it around slowly. Then she looked back towards her members, all still supporting her even though it was the end.

Nadjai stared. _This is just stupid …_ She took a sip of her Ponta (her mom had filled her bag to the brink with those), sort of ticked off. "This is … REALLY IDIOTIC OF YOU BUCHOU!" She yelled across the court, making everyone drop to the ground in shock.

The captain shook her head like a wet dog and looked around for the noise. The twins and Joruni tried keeping the younger girl back, as she was trying to climb over the short wall surrounding the courts. "Eh?"

"_I_ was supposed to be singles 2 and then you decide to suddenly swap places? That's no fair just so you know! If you're planning on loosing like this couldn't you at least have let me play first? I got up early and everything and you even apologized to me?!" She yelled. "You could have stayed in singles 1 if you're doing this pointless _revenge_ thing; I'm sure I could beat her and then we wouldn't loose this pathetically!"

Miku's eye twitched. "What the heck …?"

"Pull yourself together you idiotic captain or- or-" Nadjai tried finding the right words to say.

"Never speak to her again?" Joruni suggested.

"Will quit the tennis club?" Shinobu joined in.

"Kill the pandas?" Shioko tried.

Miku glared. "You guys …"

"AH!" Nadjai pointed towards the other. "What they said! So pull yourself together or I'll hate you for the rest of my life!"

"…" Miku stared, then with a sigh turned around to face her opponent again. "Alright."

"Hurray!" Joruni, in her happiness decided to pull Nadjai's cheeks again. "You did it, Lumpy, we knew you could!"

"… Could what?" She asked dumbfounded, trying to get away from the pinching.

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"About time you pulled yourself together." Nadjai sighed at her captain.

Miku glared at her angrily, not having forgotten the words yelled to her in the middle of the match – or rather; at what seemed to be the end of it. In the meanwhile Azumi was walking towards her team laughing, scratching her head and saying it was no big deal …

The scoreboard said it all.

7-5 to Rikkai Dai.

"Nadjai, you- …" She trailed off and snapped her fingers together. "Iwasaki!"

"Y-yes?"

"You know what to do."

The poor vice-captain sighed too sadly. "Nadjai-chan, 10 laps."

"O-oi?"

"Now."

Everyone watched as the grumbling girl walked away in a real foul mood. Miku laughed. "Oh that certainly cheers you up." She put down her racket and looked at the two twins. "It's up to you two now, don't disappoint me."

"Hai, Buchou!"

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Shinobu glanced at her sister. "What's the matter?"

"… I'm hungry."

Both broke down laughing at the net, having the two opponents stare in wonder – and worry: were they going against those two nutcases? "Nice one, nice one." She clapped her sister's shoulder and looked up. "So, rough or smooth?"

"Smooth." They both said at the same time.

"Oh, they're more in sync than we are!" Shioko exclaimed, clapping her hands together happily. "This'll be interesting!"

They spun the racket and watched as it landed with the right side up. "Smooth it is …" Shinobu pouted. "Ah well …"

The two twins looked up, a gleam in their eyes. "That doesn't matter though, now does it?"

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7-0. It had ended before it had stared. The two twins, having been driven into a corner from the beginning, having no way they could loose and let their team leave the tournament this early had completely defeated their opponents. Ogasawara might have been last year's champions, but Rikkai Dai would rise to the top this time …!

There was still one match left, but …

… the Ace of the Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku tennis club would never loose.

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Nadjai felt a chill down her spine.

"… Why do I feel someone is planning something cruel against me?"

She shrugged it off, guessing the captain was just planning next day's training schedule and started her 10 laps even though she was pretty sure, that she had made a deal earlier on …

"The Devil never keeps his promises anyways, I should have known …" She muttered.

With that she tripped in her shoelaces.

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There we go! Two updates in … two days or so?

Hope you like it even though it might be a bit boring.

But let me get up with this excuse. I'm just trying to get their first year done, since I'm starting to find the OC's a bother. I wanted to write a Rikkai story because I like the regulars. And then I think I should stick wit them too!

Ne?

So, hope you enjoyed and PLEASE review!

Ja ne!

IHR over and out!


	34. The Battle Between Aces

As I was finally going to upload this I got following message:

"Document Manager is currently down at the moment. Please come back in a few minutes." Meh …

I've just copied and pasted everything of my story from fanfiction onto Word … and wow; I've written a hell of a lot of pages.

233 pages in text font 9 and Verdena. Go check out how small that text is and then think about how much that is …

o.o

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**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

34 – The Battle between Aces

Normal POV

Nadjai paused, looking up at the sky. As she had done her laps around the perimeters she could feel the pressure weighing down upon her … she had to do her best or it would be all over for Rikkai Dai. She thought back at the earlier matches and how tough it had been on not only the vice-captain but the doubles 2 … and the captain.

She snorted.

"Well, I am not as bad as those people of course." Then she started on her last round before running back for the courts. As she arrived, her eyes scanned across the grounds, discovering that more people had shown up all busily speaking with each other.

"She'll be here any minute now, won't she?"

"I think I can see her among the other regulars."

Her brow furrowed. _She?_ Nadjai skipped a couple of steps down the stairs and paused at her fellow freshmen-friends. "So … did I miss anything?" Her eyes fell upon the scoreboard, being just slightly surprised with last match's outcome. "… Those two are scary." Just then all the regulars noticed her.

"There you are! Hurry up, the match is about to start!" Joruni ran over and cuddled her. "We're counting on you, just so you know … The others have managed to win so the score is equal, so … it's all up to you now, don't disappoint us!"

"… Thanks for the pressure?"

She rolled her eyes and picked up her racket. She passed the rest of the regulars, Joruni trailing behind her; and then the freshman stepped onto the court, feeling all eyes being directed towards her.

"Poor girl, she'll be crushed."

"Who cares, we'll get to see _her_ play."

Nadjai's eye twitched. "Hmph … sorry that I am no one special …"

"The Singles 1, Ogasawara vs. Rikkai Dai is now starting; can the players get onto court?" She sighed. _I'm already there …_ Her stomach growled. _I'm hungry … _Everyone from her team sighed dramatically as the younger girl decided to stare and poke her belly, giggling. _Guess I have to finish this quickly then!_

She smiled and twirled the racket, waiting for her opponent – who certainly seemed to take her time. "Meh, it's not like I got all day …" Nadjai muttered annoyed, clearly noticing the referee started getting impatient too; yet all the people watching seemed to hold their breath in anticipation - someone interesting was about to come forth?

"Will the player from Ogasawara please step forward?"

"Hai hai!" Came the voice. "I'm here!"

Nadjai rolled her eyes as the entire audience fell silent, but then turned to face what would be her opponent. Well, she could see why the people were crazy about her – she was above average (not beating herself of course), but still … nothing _really_ special about her. "I think Seiichi-kun is prettier still …" She muttered, walking slowly towards the net to greet the other girl. She brushed a strand of black hair off her face over her shoulder and then gave Nadjai cold, uncaring look. _Uh, chilling_. She grinned in her mind, having found an interesting victim to annoy.

"Nice to meet you." Nadjai came up with her most sweet, innocent look she now could muster - which seemed rather like a grimace than a smile. "Let's have a good match."

The other just look at her as if she was some alien. "Of course it's nice for you to meet me."

"…" Nadjai stared. "Hah?" _This girl is way too in love with herself …_ She thought slowly, wondering if she should let her suffer slowly and painfully or … Who was she kidding? Slow and painful is good!

"Well, you are the lucky person who is able to play again MOI!"

_Cricket, cricket_. Our heroine just stared. "Moi? That's Finish isn't it?"

"…"

Both stared at each other.

"It's French, but I guess someone like you wouldn't know."

"…" Nadjai merely waited for her to actually shake her outreached hand. "I see."

"But then again, I take that a commoner like you have no idea who I am?"

"… Can't say I do, no."

"I am the all-famous Soou Tami." She said, giving a price-winning smile.

_Cricket. Cricket. _She continued staring.

"I give up, I can't even talk with you – you give me a headache."

Nadjai blinked and decided to forget about shaking hands. In stead she side-stepped towards her captain. "Buchou …"

"Yes?"

"She's strange."

"I see."

"But then I have an ethical question."

"Shoot."

"It's not alright to hurt not-right people, is it?"

"Well, our very mean vice-captain makes you run laps all the time, doesn't she? And you're _not-right_, true no?"

"… God I hate you sometimes."

"Love you too." Miku called as Nadjai made her way back to court grumpily. The captain merely laughed and shifted in her seat on the coach's bench. "This'll be interesting … showdown between the probably best aces of our time."

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Once again they were staring at each other from across the court. "I'm sorry-!" The girl called out towards Nadjai, making our last mentioned look up puzzled from her growling stomach.

"Huh?"

"I'm sorry." She repeated, lifting her racket to serve. "But I have to finish this quickly, I have a photo shoot soon." The Rikkai ace merely shrugged. _Fine, if you have to go I guess I can't keep you too long, now can I?_

"That's fine with me; I need a nap soon anyways." She retorted, slowly jumping up and down on her feet, getting the muscles warmed up. Her smirk widened. "Though I was planning on beating you slowly … but since you are having other plans too I guess I have to safe that for whomever our opponents are in the Finals."

The other once again threw her hair over her shoulder, looking rather annoyed but continued smiling sweetly for her audience – she couldn't let her fans down, now could she? "Is that so …?" She muttered, opening the door inside her unleashing the true powers. "Let's see about that."

_Muga no Kyōchi__._

Nadjai yawned. "Oh? Right, how extremely incredible." Her eye then started twitching as the girl once again pushed her hair over her shoulder. _When I have won I am so going to cut off her hair …_

"That's not everything! I am just warming up!"

"Oh dear." She leaned on her racket. "Then maybe you have managed to unlock one of the doors then?"

"One? Please, spare me!"

Her brow furrowed. _More than one door then? Might have underestimated her a bit. _But facing an opponent with so much power to be to unlock two doors was nothing to scare off our heroine. _Too bad I'm not your average player, my love._ She chuckled, watching as the Ogasawara girl's right arm started to glow. _Uh, using all her energy in the hit, how fun! _Her face didn't show how utmost happy she was, but she just looked bored at the other. "Could you get on with it?"

"I predict that the point will be given in one hit."

Nadjai rolled her eyes. "You do know you're supposed to hit _inside _the lines don't you?"

The other stared. "Excuse me?"

"Well, since you say the point will be handed out in one hit, that'd mean you would hit outside the lines – since I won't let it get pass me."

"Let's see about that."

Hyakuren Jitoku no Kiwami_, meh, I can't even pronounce it or anything … but maybe I should take her seriously? _Nadjai thought slowly at the first of the two doors having been opened, not even about to concentrate on the fact _two_ doors were open to the opponent. She sighed and steadied herself warily, starting to look at the other girl in a different look.

She bit her lip as the ball was about to be served. _One hit … one hit … I can't let that prediction come true. "_15-0."

"For the love of God. **Focus!**"

Nadjai's eye twitched as she looked back over her shoulder, onto the small, round ball happily rolling off. _One hit … true enough. So that means I have to put _Saiki Kanpatsu no Kiwami_ into my calculations. _She sighed once again. "How troublesome." She mumbled.

"Two hits for this next one." Soou said, holding the tennis ball up against her opponent. She smirked, knowing well enough this match was as much as won for her … Ogasawara would move on to the finals and this random girl would just be another stepping stone for her.

Unfortunately for Soou … Nadjai had other plans.

_Wooooosh! _The ball flew into the air and the black haired girl raised her racket to serve for the second time. "Two hits, two hits." Nadjai mused, not wanting another point to be wasted like that. Her eyes locked on the little ball, raising her racket to respond. _Not this time … _she slung her hand with all the force she could muster and returned it. The ball spun and made an impact with the ground on the other side of the net. Soou waited for it to bounce up against her already waiting racket … but it didn't.

"15-15." The referee called.

"As you said, two hits." Nadjai mused, baring her teeth in a smirk. "You may be able to unlock two doors, but it's still not enough to beat me …" Small sparks started travelling down against her arms, focusing onto her right hand, where she was tightly gripping the racket. "Muga no Kyōchi has three doors as you might know … I must give you this, being able to unlock two doors, but I – _I _have opened them all."

Her smirk widened.

"Two hits." Nadjai predicted. _I cannot take her too lightly, I need to end this quickly._

Miku snickered to herself, delighted to hear those news. Nadjai was better than what the captain could possible have hoped for … she was the right one to bear the name of Rikkai's ace player.

"All three doors?" Joruni muttered behind her, seemingly confused.

Miku rolled her eyes.

"15-30."

"15-40."

"Game won, Rikkai Dai, 0-1."

Sanada was not even bothered to watch the match as the outcome had been predicted … Nadjai was serious about winning; so even if the other girl tried anything there was no way out of it. Rikkai Dai Fuzoku was going to move onto the finals. "H-how is this possible?" Soou stuttered, her façade cracking up even though all her fans were there, watching in horror as their idol was loosing. Badly.

"I'm sorry." Nadjai spoke up, mocking the other's earlier behaviour. "I have to end this quickly." As it was the now serious Nadjai's turn to serve the predictions were _one hit_.

"0-2."

"0-3."

"0-4."

_This is starti__ng to get just slightly tiring._

"0-5."

"Are you sure you don't want to just forfeit?" Nadjai asked from across the net to the other girl, who was now looking more than out of it. Once again our heroine (who starts to seem like the bad guy) was feeling that strange feeling again. What was it now? Pity? Maybe she was being a bit cruel towards the other, completely destroying her – not only on the court, but seemed like she was loosing a bit of her confidence too – but then again: that's tennis. No matter the outcome, one would be a loser.

Rather just end it quickly then … End the other's suffering so to say.

Her stomach growled. _Another reason._

"0-6. Winner is Rikkai Dai's Fujika, Nadjai."

The two moved over to the net to shake hands with each other; both having different feelings clearly showing in their faces. Soou was pretty much looking lifeless, knowing well enough what this loss was going to inflect on her reputation – and badly too. Nadjai on the other hand was more preoccupied about her stomach that was starting to eat her up from inside. _I feel like eating ice cream. _The two stopped up in front of each other, looking into the other's eyes.

"Just so you know, I acknowledge you … you are good, really good." The winner of the match said. "To be able to unlock two doors is more than most people could ever possible imagine performing …" She smiled an awkward smile. "If only you could unlock the last door too people would never be able to get a single point from you."

"Thank you." Soou muttered slowly, noticing the hand being reached out towards her. Slowly she grabbed it and shook it. "Thanks …"

"No worries!" She beamed. "But you'd still not be able to beat me of course!"

The idol stared at the other, now looking rather … _annoyed_. "We'll see about that!" She pointed a finger towards her once again enemy. "I'll see you next year and Ogasawara will crush you people, _that,_ I swear!"

Nadjai merely shrugged. "Lovely." She then turned towards her team who were all pretty much crying in happiness of still being in the run for National winners. "Buchou, I want ice cream!"

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"Good job Lumpy, I knew you had it in you." One of the doubles players, Tamafune, said, patting the younger girl on the head. "Good girl."

"As expected." Her partner said, nodding wisely. "We only lost to create an air of tension you know, since we didn't find it fair if you didn't get to play too … the world should see how awesome and fearsome Rikkai is, having an extraordinary first year such as yourself." Yayoi nodded.

Nadjai ignored all the blabbering and was happily licking her chocolate ice cream, which Iwasaki had in whatever magical way conjured from thin air. The earlier match was long gone, tucked away in the furthest corner of her mind …

"We're very proud of you." Chimed the small vice-captain next to the girl, somewhat seeming slightly nervous. Nadjai glanced towards the other, not thinking much of it – Iwasaki was always nervous, especially with Miku stalking around.

But then again, where was the captain? Noticing that the Devil was apparently not around, Nadjai scanned her surroundings. "Where's Buchou?" She asked, trying to keep the ice cream from falling out over the edge of the cone.

"She's out to get some information on our next opponents." Once again Iwasaki shifted nervously, not slipping past Nadjai's attention.

"Hm …" She muttered, focusing on the _precious _thing in her hands. Apparently there was still the semi-finals and the finals left, but they were supposed to look at it positively … The hardest team, Ogasawara, was out of the tournament. The rest would be a piece of cake. _Hm, cake … _Her stomach growled. She looked down. _You _still _haven't gotten enough?!_

"**Gather up.**"

The captain had arrived and her team quickly scurried to their feet and gathered up around the leading figure in the female tennis team. "I have news about the next opponents …" She sighed. "Or rather, _lack_ in opponents."

Everyone stared.

"Say, Buchou …" Nadjai started off slowly. "Did you poison their food or something- or no! I bet it was the water this time."

Miku glared at the freshman and then looked back up. "Actually I didn't, but it seems that the three other teams for the semi-finals are knocked out cold … their water seemed to actually be … spiked. There is no evidence though, so …"

Everyone continued staring. _That _SO _was the captain's doings._

"Congratulations with winning the Nationals." She stated.

They continued staring, this time for another reason.

"Eh …?" Someone, no one really had the focus to know who, said.

"_EH?!_"

Miku laughed at their reactions. "I know, incredibly, but as there is no evidence and the teams all in all didn't show up, means the same as they have forfeited. So, we, as the final team standing for the semi-finals, are the winners."

"… that's sort of … an indecent win, isn't it?"

The next one who spoke up shocked them all.

"Isn't that for the best?"

Everyone turned their attention towards Iwasaki. The small, timid girl was shaking nervously. Miku, quickly having caught the draft, started laughing. "Iwasaki, Iwasaki, Iwasaki …" She shook her head. "I can't believe it. _You _spiked the water didn't you?"

The vice-captain broke down, confessing. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry … I thought it as the best, I was sure _you_ were going to do something against them … so if I did something first it might not be as bad as what Miku-chan could have come up with. I- I saved them."

Everyone were mentally discussing if she had done the right thing or if it was just messed up. Most came to the conclusion it was both, but still … to them, after all they had been through, it made sense …

Miku nearly broke down next to the other from laughing so hard. "I can't believe it! I wouldn't even have done anything, I was confident we would win."

"…" Nadjai was sort of gone off track a while ago. "So … champions?"

"Aye."

"That's not too bad …"

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Nadjai was sitting in the bus on her way home, tennis bag stuffed with her rackets and gear. She wasn't really paying attention to anything going on around her as she sat in the far end of the public transport. Her shoulder bumped against the window as the vehicle moved around a corner and she snapped out of the trance. Slowly, she trailed the gold medal, hanging around her neck.

_Champions._

They really had won in the Nationals – in a questionable way of course – but still … even if the other teams didn't have to forfeit, they were sure to have won anyways.

She shook her head. _I guess this is something I'll always remember … The Times Where I Could Have Had a Normal Life … Indeed._ She smiled. Not that she'd trade the time she had spend with the tennis team for anything in the world. It had – she had to admit – been fun.

She looked at the medal.

Then again … it was only her first year in Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku.

Her eye twitched.

Two years left of living hell.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

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_**THE END**_

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

IHRHC

I'm so, so, so, soooooo sorry for having been this late with updating. I can't even see the point apologizing since you'd all still be mad at me I predict.

But still … I updated. And I updated THE END –dodges shoes– I know, I know. Though, haha, bet I got you good there. Of course it's not the end … Just wanted to fool you all!

As said: two years left of hell. I'm not done making Nadjai suffer :)

So please! I hope to see you all to the next year of

_Powerful Rikkai Dai_

.Running over and out for now

(Got exams, so bear with me!)


	35. Farewells

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

35 – Farewells

"Now all, please give us a biiiiiiiiiig smile."

Nadjai really, really tried muffling her yawn as she had been dragged out of her bed way too early that morning. Then the tips of her mouth curled up slightly, trying not to show that someone far bigger than her was leaning over her shoulders, crushing her as a pancake against the floor.

Here she was, cramped together with her fellow regulars of the Rikkai Daigaku Fuzuko female tennis team. Today was their last practice and as the tradition said there was always taken a picture for the School's Scrapbook of the famous sports idols.

"Let's see." The teacher in charge of the sport facilities took a sharp look at the picture, being shown on the digital camera. "Hm … better than last year at least." He said with a sigh, urging the regulars to gather up while at the same time scurrying through his bag. He pulled out a small book and gave it over to the captain to begin with. "Now please write a small text about this year along with name and class."

Miku, who was looking as if she really, really didn't have time for this, opened the book and took the pencil given by the teacher. After that it was passed on to the rest and Nadjai, being the youngest and person with fewer rights than the rest (apparently), got it as the last one. Her eyes scanned over the small things the regulars had seemingly treasured from this year.

_Tanaka Miku, 3-2. The fact that we finally beat Ogasawara – IN YOUR FACE YOU FREAKING LOSERS! And of course the fact that the team has become really strong … compared to last year … __**100 laps to anyone who as much as mention the questionable win at the Nationals! **__It was well-deserved, we ARE the best team and if you got a problem then please, do tell me … and you will die._

Nadjai stared at the last part, pitying the pencil which had been smothered out all over the page in what seemed to be yet another of Miku's rage-attacks.

_Iwasaki Sata, 3-2. We have had quite a lot of fun this year and I'm glad to have met so many people in the tennis team, non-regulars and regulars. Everyone has been so kind and sweet and I'm really happy … We won the Nationals too, which is quite a thing to achieve and … true, it was a questionable win but still … it was for the best, right? Right? Please tell me it was or I can never live with the guilt! It's eating me alive I tell you!!!_

"…" Nadjai slowly glanced towards the poor vice-captain. "To think she is going through all that inside …" Iwasaki looked up at the sound of mumbling and her eyes locked with another pair, looking at her with pity. "Keep strong!"

_Abe Shinobu, 3-4. Once again nothing extraordinary have happened this year (we did win the Nationals, but other than that), it was still the same good ol' regulars – with one exception; there is of course the retard – but else … why do I feel like I've wasted yet _another_ year? Of course it's fun to watch the retard run around, fooling and messing up where ever the tennis team might go … and Buchou who is … no comment._

"Retard, eh …" Her eye twitched.

_Abe Shioko, 3-1. I can't find my iPod, that's for sure and I have a slight feeling someone _retarded _has misplaced it. Other than that … we won the Nationals, which was sort of a drag – meaning we had to do even more practice and even more laps. The pandas will avenge me!_

"Okay! I'm sure the next thing I read will not hold a hidden insult against me."

_Ui Yayoi, 3-3. I don't think I'm going to pass my math exam. The fact that I've been with this tennis team for three years now have seriously damaged my brain – severely. To whoever might read this: Do. Not. Join! I swear, I've tried so many times to leave but … failed. Then again, it might not be so bad when the Devil leaves too … to think if I get into the same High School as her? God forbid it._

"Score!" She mused, happy to read someone trashing the captain and not her.

_Kasamatsu Tamafune, 3-1. I find it silly to even write this …_

"As expected." Tamafune had always been on the more quiet side and didn't do anything unless it was highly needed … she would probably be one of the _sane _people on the team.

_Fumihiko Joruni, 3-1. __I don't get why I should even write in this – the tradition says the _regulars_ and as we all know I've been stuck in the RESERVE for the last THREE YEARS! What the heck's with that? I was sure to have gotten a spot this year but of course not … I don't mind Lumpy coming in and winning everything (that kid is sick) but I wanted to be a regular too just for once … That bench has a mark formed as my behind. Ah well … I think I'll get a spot in High School. Aye … I will._

"I feel the hate." Nadjai had given up reading all these as one after another they were … disturbing. "Nevermind." She tapped the pencil against the blank spot in the book and pondered about what to write.

_Fujika Nadjai, 1-1. I never did actually sign up for the tennis team but before I knew off it I was dragged into all this … stuff. But the 3rd years are graduating so I guess I'm free soon. We won the Nationals, we are all happy, we are … oh screw this__, even if I try to sound positive it's … impossible! Don't join the tennis team unless you want to suffer as much as I have – it's fun though … suffering is good …_

She slapped herself and randomly threw the book at the teacher. Everyone stared, making Nadjai slowly look around, pondering the situation. "What?"

"Are you completely normal? I've always thought about that." Shinobu asked what everyone was thinking.

"Err … yes?"

The teacher had quickly checked for any _inappropriate _material in the small book and shortly after he was gone; it was a BAD idea to be close to these people it seemed – the many complains from other students were apparently true.

"Well …" Miku started off slowly. "Our last practice, so any suggestions as of what to do?"

All the regulars stared at their captain, freaked out. They actually had a _choice_? They could actually _decide _something? Did they … did they have rights to do things on their own? The Demon awaited their answer, but as most was just staring at her in shock (and drooled?) she decided that they were not yet ready to survive on their own.

"How about a final tournament between us all?" She smiled sweetly, knowing completely she didn't have to even ask … they'd do it.

"Okay."

"Yeah, sure."

"Sounds good."

"Why not."

Ah yes … they were all in her power.

"I don't want to …"

Except one.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I don't want to."

"This is the _last_ tennis practice, wouldn't you find it appropriate to play _tennis_?"

"I don't want to …"

"So you rather want to run laps?"

"LET'S GO!"

And so they all ran off happily for their final practice session and towards the setting sun!

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

"Sweetie, it's about you wake up, isn't it?" Her mother called from downstairs, busily preparing breakfast as always – and failing too. Muttering, the girl slowly crept over the edge of the bed and landed on the floor with a _thud_.

"Meh …"

"You'd better hurry, today's when the results of the exams will be out!"

This of course didn't make her day any better. Slowly making her way over the floor towards her uniform, randomly thrown in the corner, she muttered curses, one after another. "Results … no thank you, I don't even want to know."

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

_Ding! Dong!_

The bell rang and the principal, sounding as if he was about to break down crying of happiness, gave a speech to all his "lovely" students about the end of the year and how he was looking forward to seeing them all next year again – with a few exceptions. Nadjai felt how it was directed towards … yeah, her and the person standing next to her.

Niou though wasn't looking as if he had heard it, although his smirk was slightly wider than usual and the trickster was probably already planning _adventures of the principal _for the next year. "How interesting …" She heard him muse lowly.

She stared and sighed. _Can't be helped, now can it? _She and Niou had met up on their way to school – or rather, bumped into each other. Nadjai had been running late as she had to prepare breakfast (her mom being a failure as a cook) and saved the house from total wipe-out, had stumbled over a bag near the school fountain. Niou was giving his farewell gift to the principal and as he said "a token of remembrance as of how they had met for the first time".

But then again, that would be another story.

Now both of them were standing in front of the giant scoreboards with the rest of the students, filling the entire schoolyard with the sum of exam results – having the third years crowded to the far left, all checking if they had passed their exams or had to be dragged down another year. Our targets though were more relaxed as most teachers had already reassured that it would be _impossible _to flunk – with a few exceptions.

Nadjai sighed.

"Oi, make way, make way!" They heard a familiar voice through the crowd of freshmen, all pushing their way past each other to find their own names. "OI! I'm a prodigy, give way!"

Two seconds later the pink-haired boy stood, glaring daggers at the people completely ignoring him and in the end just popped a bubble the size of a head and as pink as himself.

"No respect do they have, not at all …" He muttered and decided to forget about it. As he turned around to get away from the mob of people he noticed the two staring at him. "Oh not you people."

Nadjai glared.

"Sorry I exist." Her eyes followed another bubble, spreading across his face. "Got any to spare?"

"Buy your own will you." He snapped, ignoring the girl now rubbing her face against his arm as some hungry dog, begging her master for leftovers. He sighed and rummaged through his pockets, shortly after pulling a package of _Apple Flavoured Bubblegum _out. He broke a piece up in two, ate half of it himself and reluctantly gave his starving pet some too.

At that time, Jackal saw his queue to sneak past them, hoping they were too busy with watching the retard getting bubblegum out of her hair … but no, not only was she stupid beyond belief, she was probably mutated too – having eyes in the back of her head as that was the only way she could have seen him. "Jackal-kun!" She beamed at him, eyes slowly wandering off towards a half-chewed piece of bubblegum on the tip of her nose.

"Dear God, no." He sighed, now standing with the two other freshman boys.

And then they were four.

"G'morning everyone." Renji politely greeted them all, having arrived at the scene too. "Found your results yet?" None of them answered this, their eyes wandering off towards the now maniac group of freshmen. "I see."

"Congratulations with winning the Nationals, Renji-kun." Nadjai smiled at him; the two check-mates standing opposite each other, the difference in height showing clearly – apparently she was retarded, mutated _and _a midget. "I heard you and Gen-chan dominated the singles 2?"

"Thank you. We won 6-0, but the possibility of this was of course 100%."

Nadjai stared.

"Don't speak numberish to me, you know I'm no good at English."

They stared.

"You mean math?"

"…"

Everyone silently waited for her brain to digest the information but she just stood there.

"GEN-CHAN!"

The conversation had, by the arrival of her most beloved, come to a conclusion. _English and math are the same; both completely failing subjects. _The stoic freshman, who continuously – day after day – asked himself the same question: why me?, was being hugged to death by the most annoying person on Earth. He merely stood there, waiting for the miracle that God would smite her with a lightning and she would blow away as a cloud of dust.

That of course never did happen, but he was still clinging onto the small hope that there really were miracles in this world. "Gen-chan, Gen-chan, Gen-chan, Gen-chan …!"

Miracles apparently _DO _happen as a shoe came soaring through the air out of nowhere, making an impact with the girl's head. Everyone watched as she fell to the ground in slow-motion, making it all look like something taken from a movie.

"Don't you dare go around ravage anyone else but Seiichi!" Riku yelled, having been let out of the closet where she had been trapped for quite some time – she had at least not made her appearance for quite a while.

Everyone mentally shuddered, as the picture of Nadjai _ravaging _the Princess popped up in their minds. That was just WRONG!

Of course, as the two friends had been reunited – through violence and shoes – they now met again – through violence and shoes. Shortly after Nadjai was sitting comfortably and very proud of herself on top of a half-beaten Riku, the last mentioned person silenced with a shoe in the mouth.

The other person, having arrived at the same time as his cousin was merely standing with the others, noticing they were all slightly spooked glancing towards him. He just gave them the _loving _smile, making them freak out even more. "I got nothing to do with either of those two."

They all decided not to comment.

And so they were seven.

"Nadjai-chan!" Now being extremely skilled at dodging lunatics throwing themselves at her, Nadjai agile and looking like a pro sidestepped Nanao, who had apparently been let out along with Riku. Riku though, was quickly up and battling against the other, both fighting over the right for the "Nadjainess".

Nadjai stared.

She decided to ignore them.

And so they were eight.

She shrugged. "Think I'll go find my score …" She muttered, walking towards the group of people, the amount being diminished to only a few first years, searching for their names on the board. And of course as a girl can dream about a better life Nadjai was optimistic and looked for her name at the left side of the board, where all the _high _scores were shown – hey! It might have been she had crossed out the correct answers through luck.

Shortly after she was staring at Renji in awe, the last-mentioned, not really bothering to ask why he felt _fangirl­_-eyes on him, was merely staring at the board with eyes closed as usual. "500/500?" She asked him.

"Of course." He stated as if it was just, well, obvious! Then again … he was the Data Collector.

Her eyes moved one step down to see who was on the second place, pretty sure to find her own name – yeah, right! – but; of course not.

_2. __Sanada Genichirou 495/500 _

_2. Yukimura Seiichi 495/500_

Her eye twitched. "Okay … that I can live with."

The rest of the tennis players of the male team followed afterwards, the gaps between them differing from each person to person but all were high at the rankings; seemingly not having had had any trouble with keeping up with the readings for exams or the National Tournament which they had luckily passed just as perfectly.

The next in line, after having passed through all the boys, was Nanao who was looking at Nadjai with big, round eyes as if she was a puppy, waiting for her master to praise her. The other girl just merely looked at her. "Good job?" She tried, hopping it would be satisfying enough as the staring was starting to creep her out.

Nanao beamed at her, clearly happy enough with that. "I did it all for you!"

Nadjai inwardly shivered. "I see … Thanks …" With that she backed away slightly and diverted her attention towards the board again; trying to shake the _images _out. Row after row she continued – while wondering exactly how many freshmen there were – and finally found another familiar name.

"So … Riku …"

Her classmate who had trailed behind, sending warning looks towards Nanao, looked at her own name too on the board. "Aye, what?"

"Well, I guess 40/500 isn't _the_ worst." She tried not to grin.

Riku scratched the brick of her nose sheepishly and then shrugged.

"What happened?" Her _concerned_ friend asked; knowing well enough there would be a fun story behind it all. "Or no, let me guess!" She paused. "Okay, no; I have no idea what could have gone through your head."

"I was just too busy worrying to actually pay attention." She once again watched Nanao with those warning looks which said it all: _Get close and I _will _kill you. _Everyone had different images going through their mind what she could possible have been worried about.

The person to break the silence was of course Nadjai herself. "Worries about what?"

"_You_ of course!"

Everyone backed away as stars appeared behind the girl, as she went into _idol_-mode.

"Why did I ask …?" Nadjai asked herself.

"I was sitting two rows behind you and how could I possible think about my exam? When my best friend is staring blankly off into space the first half of the exams and then _sleeps _the other half? To think if you had been kept back a year … That would mean you couldn't celebrate your graduation with Seiichi-kun as a loving couple but would have to wait a year. You wouldn't be able to get into High School with him; you wouldn't get to – if lucky – go in the same class as him. It would be horrible for you two to be kept apart by a year!"

_Silence._

Nadjai took a deep breathe, trying to not strangle the still rambling girl. "Let's move on!" She clapped her hands together, thinking that she had actually not seen her own name yet – how _outrageous!_

"Found it." Came the (laughing) voice of the Trickster, standing _way_ in the far end of the boards. Her brow furrowed, _that could not be right. _Everyone else trailed behind – with the exception of Riku (still rambling and drawing a crowd around herself) – and so she stood in front of her name at the _bottom _of the _last _board.

Niou, who had already had had good time to digest the information, was clutching himself at the board, trying to draw breathe into his lungs – the maniac laughter made it hard for him unfortunately. "That- that is just … epic."

"How in God's Name can you get …" Bunta started, nearly choking in his bubblegum. "That's just … impossible!"

_-5/500._

"Is that even possible?" Niou once again had gotten over the shock.

They all stared at her, hoping that there would be a reasonable explanation to it all. She looked directly back at them all. Could anyone be _that_ stupid? She blinked. "What?"

The answer to that question would be … yes. The giant arrow above her head with the sign _Idiot_ written on it was not even needed as what they had all known for months now had been proved 100%.

Her stomach growled.

"Did you even fill out your own name?" Yukimura asked, smile in place – a bit broader than usual might I mention.

She fell silent. "I'm pretty sure I did."

"She did." A voice said from behind them all; the math-teacher for class 1-1. "And she spelled it wrong."

No one even responded. _Figured!_

"But let us just say that some …" The teacher cleared his throat, seemingly to find this entire _happening _rather uncomfortable. "_Higher Powers_ has held a hand above your head; even though you were rather below the _passed _mark the _Higher Powers_ decided they would rather have you pass on to the next year."

_One year less for her to be in Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku. _The surrounding people thought; well knowing the _Higher Powers _was the principal.

Nadjai just stared. "I see." Clearly not understanding anything, but who cared; she never did. "Congratulations all with passing for next year! And I even did it with a higher score than last time!"

_Silence._

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

Nadjai peered searchingly at Iwasaki, the vice-captain who had gone through so very, very many trials was crying her eyes out against the much larger Joruni; the taller girl patting her with nervous _pokes. "_I can't- I ca-ca-caaaaaan't believe it's really the end." She sobbed, blowing her nose at the nearest cloth (being Iwasaki's shirt).

Miku slapped her Second in Charge on the head with what most would describe as a sickening _smack!_. The members of the tennis team all looked up from their conversations onto the regulars, who had all been gathered. All noise had left the area, clearly not wanting to talk at the same time as the captain. "Get over yourself." Miku muttered. She cracked her fingers, making them all believe _laps _were heading their way. But she merely smiled and without really looking, grabbed Nadjai by the collar – last mentioned trying to sneak away.

"Let me go …" She muttered, but decided to not even try and resist and in stead just stood there, sulking.

"As you all know all the regulars are graduating – with one exception-" She made a slight nod towards the younger girl. "-and there is therefore no captain on this team at the current moment; which is why I would like to announce the one who will take over in my place."

At the part where Miku had said _no captain on this team_, Nadjai finally saw the loophole she had waited for from when she had re-joined the team and stroke a deal with the devil. A wide grin spread across her face as she spoke up. "I quit!"

Oh how everyone watched her; some astonished, some scared of the outcome, some … ticked off. "Excuse me?" Miku asked, sweetly. "You _what_?"

"I quit." She repeated.

"If I remember we made a deal …" The _ex_-captain started off, but the freshman interrupted.

"Ah yes, I remember that too and if I may quote! "_and won't leave it again as long as there's a captain!_"." Once again she beamed, returning the sweet smile of Miku's (who had at that time turned into a frown). "And as you just said, there was _no _captain on this team as you have graduated. Which also means; I am no longer bound by the deal we made, and I am allowed to quit the team!"

Miku sighed and then released the grip onto the collar. "Heh … who would have thought you were _this_ … smart. I accept it; I have been beaten." A chill ran down Nadjai's spine.

_Why do I feel something is going to backfire at me?_

"And I who had thought of promoting you to captain …" She shrugged. "I guess someone else has to take on this heavy, painful burden; something which can only be done in solitude. To think of all the things I've had to do for the greater good of the team … oh yes, never appreciated …" She smiled at her former team all now burdened with guilt. "Ack, I guess that's just the way it is … True leaders are never understood!"

"I- I think you did a good job." Iwasaki piped in.

"**Silence Iwasaki.**"

The fun feeling called guilt evaporated.

Miku turned once again to Nadjai. She smiled. "I'll be looking forward to seeing you in High School; if you of course manage to get that far." She reached out a hand, which made the younger girl stare in wonder. Had the world turned upside-down? "You really are an amazing player and I hope we one day will play a match against each other."

She warily watched the outstretched hand. "Ah …" Grabbing it, she suddenly felt how much the captain actually had done for the team, for her and all in all – in her own _unique _way – had made her first year at Rikkai Dai an interesting year. "I'll try finding a day for that match then; if I can find an open spot in my schedule." She grinned. "Devil Captain."

"GROUP HUG!"

Before any of them knew of it; Joruni, dragging Iwasaki with her, had crushed the two in a hug, the rest of the regulars joining in. "I don't like admitting it … but I will miss you lot."

"Well, we won't miss you, Lumpy." Shinobu muttered.

"I'm glad if I never see you again, Lumpy." Shioko agreed with her twin.

"That is true, I'm sure our High School life will be much more peaseful, Lumpy." Yayoi muttered.

"If you weren't there, Lumpy." Her doubles partner, Tamafune, agreed.

"G-guys, don't say things like that. I for one will miss you, L-Lumpy." Iwasaki once again tried making them all part as friends.

"Yeah, it's been fun messing with you, Lumpy." Joruni, still pressing the girls together in this big _pile_, laughed.

"Everything they said pretty much sums up what I would have said, Lumpy." Miku finished, ruffling the freshman's hair.

For once, Nadjai did not even bother arguing about the fact she was not a Lumpy.

"Same to you."

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

**The end **is it now?

And this is truly – no way turning back – the last chapter for the incredible life of the regulars of Rikkai Dai and their first year at the all-famous school known as Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku.

I, as your humble author, hope you have all enjoyed the now 35 chapters which have stretched for little over a year. There have been laughs, tears, pain and so many other things and I hope I have been able to pep up a perhaps boring day with a chapter – for me it has been a change in life to write this thing and to share it with you all.

I hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Truth be told, there has been times where I have had trouble with completing chapters but all of you out there have helped me get over myself, snap out of it and write once again – the thing I like the most. Therefore this entire story is dedicated to my readers. Thank you all.

Also to the people who have so generously reviewed throughout the story, weather you came in from the beginning, turned up in some of the later chapters or stumble across this in the middle of the night, a stormy day in your life – I thank you all. It has been awesome to write responses and to know that there are people out there who like my work.

But then again, I ask myself … WHAT THE HECK AM I DOING?!

The last couple of … words have been so sentimental and for what reason, I may ask. This is -laugh- of course not the end of _Powerful Rikkai Dai_, as you all know … middle school is not just one year, is it now? No, no, no. Of course not.

Years will follow and I hope you will all stay with me as we continue this journey to see how these small boys will become the best team of them all!

-bows- With this I hope that I will receive some reviews -hint hint- and I hope this chapter has been enjoyable; although in my honest opinion stretched maybe a bit too much - 5000 words. Hope it was not boring! I admit I tried being a bit sentimental but I really, really needed to watch Nadjai fall down the stairs or something – it suits her better if I may say so.

So stay tuned for more!

IHR over and out!


	36. Nightmare Managing

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**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

36 – Nightmare Managing

The rain poured down outside the windows and the thick cover of clouds hid the sun from penetrating and warming the Earth. Hitting hard against the glass it was muffled by the hulking person, sitting hunched in an armchair. Everyone else in the room tried to not look at the young woman, afraid that they might become another victim of her unfortunate fate. Yet still, some where unable to stop their nervous gazed shifting onto her from time to time.

"Please …" She whispered to the man, sitting on the arm of the chair. "Please, I beg you. Is there no one else?"

The elderly man shifted his glasses further up onto his nose and glanced out the window onto the pouring rain and the dull world on the other side. Then he sighed and turned back to her. "I am sorry."

"Why _me_?" She asked, an edge of aggression surfacing in her voice as she glared up onto him, eyelashes filled with tears and face watery from crying. "I am not the only one!"

Voices were heard from outside as the first arrived to the building, hurrying across the yard to get away from the downpour. Once again he sighed and then decided to speak up again. "We have _all_ talked about this and rather than sacrificing another person you can have one more year."

"I can't STAND another year!" She exclaimed as she noticed how her last hope was slipping through her fingers. "It will _kill _me!" She stood up and paced through the room. "I can't, I honestly can't, please understand Principal!"

"Pull yourself together Kobaya-sensei." The man had at what it seemed, lost his temper and was standing too. "You have a job and that job is to do this, I will hear no more or I will see your resignation on my desk by tomorrow."

Her jaw dropped. "You- you can't mean …"

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His curly hair blew in front of his eyes at a sudden gust of wind, rushing over the yard. He shielded his eyes and a smirk spread across his face as he looked up upon the school. _Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku! _As he made it in under the cover of the roof he folded his umbrella and was about to close the door after him when a voice called out.

"Oi! Wait, hold it!" He kept the door open for the girl, rushing inside and away from the rain. Her clothes were dripping wet but she still grinned broadly to him. "Thanks!" She nodded approving to him before disappearing down the hall.

He shrugged and started walking too to get to his first homeroom period at his new school … a new school known for holding the title as National winners!

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

Kobaya-sensei entered the homeroom of class 2-1 with a heavy sigh, but then pulled herself together and stood before her students. She scanned over the students who, at what it seemed, had not changed much over the holiday. Some of the boys had been skyrocketing with their height, making the people behind them shift from one side to another to see their teacher properly.

Some of the girls had apparently gotten prettier too, sending long eyelashes towards the boys and giggling together, or- she paused, weren't they always like that? But one thing had not changed …

_Unfortunately._

_Snooooooooooore._

"Shh … Nadjai-chan, you're too loud …" Riku hushed her friend and apparently tried silencing the snoozing girl with her bag, but rather seemed to strangle the other. Kobaya's eye started twitching. _This _was the reason she did not want to be the homeroom teacher again this year … Riku stared annoyed and then pouted. "You're hopeless."

Silently crying in her mind, she turned to the blackboard and wrote something down while secretly popping a glass of pills. Yet another long, long year. The rest of the students looked at her with pity, silently agreeing with her.

Nadjai happily and unaware of the situation drooled on the table.

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

Renji looked at the two others and they looked straight back at him. Yukimura seemed in an interestingly high mood that day while Sanada was rather … well, Sanada was in his usual mood.

"G'morning." Yukimura greeted, taking his usual seat among the other students of their class. "Had a nice vacation?" The boy watched their teacher entering the room before turning his eyes onto the two others again.

"Collected new data."

"How … fun!" Yukimura turned to Sanada. "Buchou has talked to you too, right?" The other merely stared right back. "Mr. Vice Captain."

A million thoughts ran through Renji's mind at that time.

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

"Strawberry-kuuuuuuuuuun!"

Riku watched as Nadjai tackled the boy, as they had made their way out onto the hallway after their first period. She pulled her bag further up over her shoulders before walking over, grabbing the other girl by the ear and pulled her away. "Save it for Seiichi."

"You're still at that?" The black haired girl muttered, still watching the boy who was taking this opportunity to get some space between them – making him move to the other side of the hall. "I am not or will ever be in love with the Princess."

"That's so good to hear." Riku right away started to growl dangerously, sensing her worst enemy and rival approaching; Nadjai too was getting even tenser than what she already was and turned around along with her class mate.

"How come you always know how to find me?" Nadjai stared.

"I have memorized your schedule." Nanao tapped a finger against her head. "So I always know where you are, so we can be together every possible second of our lives."

"Haa …" Nadjai at first just gaped, not really wanting to have heard the answer but then again – answers like that was pretty common and she got over it right away, turning towards Bunta (who _meep_'ed and tried crawling the wall). "Strawberry-kun." She sang, itching closer. "Got any-"

"No. Or yes, but no, you can't have any."

"…"

They glared at each other.

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"I see … You leave me no choice."

"…"

The drama queen turned towards the two other girls in the middle of arguing and instantly got their attention as she sobbed loudly. "Riku, Nanao … I'm very, very hurt. Strawberry-kun is mean to me …"

_Flash._

Both glared at him with obvious hate – people who totally repel each other get together against a common enemy. Two words: Poor Bunta. Nadjai smiled happily about the thought of her two minions who did whatever she wanted them to do, without even having to say it. She wiped the _fake _tears away and looked at the entertainment unfolding; of course this could not keep her attention for long and she decided to move to her next class.

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He watched the two girls in the middle of attacking a lone boy in the hallway, not really aware of what was going on. "What weird people …" He muttered, glancing down onto his schedule. Only four hours … Leaving the fighters alone he walked down the hallway to his next class, looking out the windows as he went onto the tennis courts.

"Hey, Kirihara-kun, wait up!"

He turned around to face a classmate, whose name he had forgotten. "Hm?"

XoXoXoXoXo-Rikkai Dai-oXoXoXoXoX

"What do you mean _I suck_?"

"_That_. You suck."

"_Why_ do I suck?"

"Since you're … you."

"That was the most pathetic explanation I've ever heard."

The two girls stared each other down, trudging after Nadjai who was trying to ignore both of them. She rolled her eyes and looked over her shoulder. "Even though it was a pathetic explanation she's right – you suck for being you." With that – and having shut both of them up – she walked along the dusty road towards another year of tennis practice, laps, sweat, pain, tears …

But not for her.

They passed by the new members of the female tennis team, all gathering around the new captain (someone from the third year) and were chatting excitedly together while sending longing and dashing eyes towards the other team, not far from them. Nadjai shivered inwardly over the mere thought of last year and with that kept on going past them.

Nadjai paused in front of the boys' changing room and thought it over, but with that she pushed the door open with a warning to those inside: "Girl incoming, better hide things you don't want to show!" She partly shielded her eyes and then stepped inside, listening to the yells and shouts of surprise. She grinned. "Hope you are all decent." Her eyes slowly opened and saw Niou standing inches away from her face.

"Like what you see?" He smirked at her.

"…" She pushed his face away and rolled her eyes before looking onto all the boys; most were the seniors and juniors whom she had met already last year but there were a few freshmen looking nervously at her. "I just felt like saying hi."

"…"

"So you walk into the boys' changing room?" Bunta asked, keeping his distance near Jackal, as he apparently thought the taller boy would be able to repel the freakish girl. "You're such a perv-"

Nadjai stared him down and continued. "I just felt like saying hi … _and introduce myself as your new manager._"

The seniors and juniors didn't even try and hide the horror.

OxOxOxOxOx-Rikkai Dai-xOxOxOxOxO

Yukimura smiled at the now _depressed _members of the tennis team, Sanada next to him and looking as grim as always – maybe more than usual as the beaming girl next to him always seemed to tick him off. "Welcome everyone and thank you for joining the tennis team this year. I am your captain, Yukimura Seiichi-"

"Woo! Seiichi!" Riku cheered from _outside _the fence (as she had been prohibited from entering the courts).

"-and this is the vice captain, Sanada Genichirou." _No cheering. _"Of course we this year have a manager – or mascot …" She stared him down with a sour look. "Fujika Nadjai."

"I LOVE YOU!" Nanao cheered – from the _other _side of the fence.

The captain smiled angelic. "To start off with we need to find out exactly how good you can play and decide who will become Regulars. So …" Everyone shivered inwardly at his smirk. "50 laps."

_Zen had found the perfect new captain …_

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**IHRHC!**

Apologies for the LONG wait but I'm really really busy! So please, hope you liked this "teaser" :)

With this I will leave you for now, but I will be back – sorry this chapter was short *bows*


	37. Welcome to Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku

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**Powerful Rikkai Dai**

37 – Welcome to Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku

Nadjai sneezed and grimaced. "Someone's talking about me …" She muttered, glaring after Niou as she sort of had a feeling it was _him_. "I'm watching you!" The new manager yelled after the trickster, as the last mentioned was running the laps their captain had set them to do. He merely grinned.

As the members of the tennis team rounded a corner after their thirtieth time around the courts, Yukimura glanced onto the stopwatch. "Too slow." He smiled. "Unless you improve with three seconds the next lap there will be a punishment." Everyone immediately sped up. The princess watched a couple of freshmen collide with each other and end up on the ground, without getting up again, but then he looked at Nadjai. "I didn't even know there was a manager for the team."

She too was watching the two younger boys scramble back to their feet and feebly trying to catch up with the rest. She shook her head. "There has always been one; just no one dared to get the job …" Her brow furrowed. "The teacher said something about those who tried applying mysteriously disappeared and … fan girls."

"Weren't you supposed to be the captain for the female team?"

"I passed out on that one. And this is so much better …" The members passed them again, apparently to a reasonable time as Yukimura let them continue without any comments. "I can be close to Gen-chan!" She beamed.

"…"

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Sanada shivered, not because it was cold, but because he felt as if all happiness in the world was sucked out by this enormous black hole that was draining his life force and making his entire soul crumple and vanish. Though, he sighed lowly, it was most likely just his _childhood friend_, who as always made his life just a bit worse than it already was in this school.

Trying to discard the thoughts he continued to run the laps around the courts with the rest; passing by the captain and manager who were curiously watching a pile of unconscious freshmen, poking them with a stick. "I think it is dead." He heard her say with a chuckle. He pulled his cap further over his face and continued trudging along to a peaceful pace, not really finding _fifty _laps too much of a challenge.

Right behind him ran another couple of juniors. "Hey, Jackal, tell me something." The red-haired boy asked, looking at the person running besides him. "Exactly _why_ did you come back this year?" He casually blew a bubble while raising an eyebrow at one of the last standing freshmen surpassing him around a corner.

"I had nothing else to do …" Jackal really looked pained thinking about it – there was nothing else for him to do after school and he had … gotten used to all the suffering; thinking it would be better after the captain had graduated. But now he thought about it, the _captain _had never been the problem. "And you need someone sane on the team."

Bunta glanced onto him. "I pity you."

"Don't we all …"

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Akaya stopped up in front of the captain and glanced around. Apparently he was the first to have completed the task, which he did not quite understand – wasn't this Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku? Last year's National winners? Where were the dedicated players who had fought and won with ease against the best teams from all over the country? The legendary three freshmen who had defeated all their opponents without loosing points? The Kings of Rikkai Dai?

Yukimura and Nadjai watched him interested. "He's cute …" She muttered, starry eyed. But then they turned their attention towards the rest who had come to a halt in front of them too: Niou was in the middle of a conversation with Bunta, Jackal had apparently become depressed over something, Sanada looked like his soul had left him, Yanagi seemed to be asleep and … everyone else had fainted in a pile in the background.

In disbelief the freshman stared at them. They could not possible be …! But then he noticed the captain watching him. "Only a single freshman survived? Incredible …" Something about that sweet smile made him want to run away, screaming, but before anything could happen the older boy got pushed out of the way by the girl.

"Hi! What's your name little one?"

He watched her.

"He _is _taller than you, idiot." Niou commented, earning him _the look_.

She smiled at him, oblivious of everything around her.

"Akaya Kirihara." He decided to answer, remembering her face from earlier that morning on the way into the school buildings. "But I think I am at the wrong place."

"…"

They stared.

"Oh?" Yukimura smiled. _Victim!_ "Why so?"

"I had heard rumours about Rikkai Dai and their tennis team, but I only see a couple of lazy juniors who are fooling around." They stared. "It was pure luck you won the Nationals, I see that now …"

A tumbleweed passed by. _Cricket! Cricket!_

"Oh, he so did _not_." Niou grinned.

"I feel hurt." Bunta muttered, wiping off fake tears.

"You didn't even compete." Jackal commented.

"Now, now," Nadjai started off, waving away the remarks. "Maybe they are just slacking at practice but they aren't too shabby on court; they are just warming up." She patted him on the head. "So don't you worry."

He slapped away her hand and she recoiled, looking onto the freshman, outraged. "I won't listen to some airhead who probably just signed as manager to be close to guys."

"He hit right on the nail."

Her eye twitched. "Kid …"

"And you shouldn't call me kid when you look like it more than anyone."

"I'm thinking white lilies on the grave …"

Before Nadjai was able to charge at him (or Riku and Nanao, who were starting to turn scarlet red in the head), Yukimura had glided out in front of her. "Maybe if we now play a match … For you to see if we are living up to your expectations?" The captain slowly guided him onto court even before he had reacted. "Do you have your own racket?"

"It's freaky when he's that nice …" Bunta muttered, hiding behind his friends.

"Of course I do." Akaya pulled away and stomped over to his bags where he pulled out a red racket. Yukimura was already on the other side of the net, balancing a ball on the side of his own racket. "And you can serve, I don't care."

"Aren't you the one taking it too lightly?" The purple-haired captain asked, hitting the ball against the ground before pausing. "Never underestimate your opponent, lesson number one." With that the ball soared up into the air and in the blink of an eye made an impact with the racket, flying over the net towards Akaya.

But before it had reached him it disappeared and was only back after having hit the ground behind him. _Bock! _He twirled around and stared at the yellow ball, rolling off. _Fast …_

"Think Yukimura will end this quickly or slow and painful?"

"Quickly I think, need to get going with practice."

"Slow and painful I think… it _is_ Yukimura."

Nadjai sulked in a corner. _Kid …_

"10-0."

Yukimura grabbed the ball from some lackey and made sure the freshman was ready. Then he served. _Bock! Bock! _Akaya grimaced as he watched the ball roll off once again, not being able to get a single hit it on it – or even having time to sling his racket. He glared towards the captain. Maybe he had underestimated them …

"20-0."

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Akaya stumbled to the ground, the yips having taken over and his hands scanned over the ground for his racket. No way would he loose, no way! The captain merely watched him from the other side with an uncaring look. Then he walked around the net and out to the others on the other side of the fence, leaving the freshman behind. Rikkai Dai's members all watched their captain. "Let that be a lesson. With an attitude like that you will not get far on this team; our goal is to win the Nationals again. _No one _is allowed to loose."

Bunta twitched. "I think our captain lost it."

Niou smirked. "I just think he got mad as the kiddo insulted Jai-chan."

Yukimura slowly turned towards them, a ticking bomb. "You said something?" Both whistled innocently and tried looking at anything but him. "Freshmen, pair up two and two-"

And so practice started; Nadjai had crept onto court and was poking the left-behind freshman before deciding to have mercy and drag him off with her – if it was to take care of him or to get revenge from the insults … no one would ever know. One thing was sure though, the two girls who were trailing behind did not seem to be in a good mood.

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_Akaya Kirihara. Soon he would be known as the ruthless Devil of Rikkai Dai. Unstoppable. Unbeatable. An ace. _His eye twitched. "What the heck is this …?" When he had finally returned to consciousness he had found himself on the bench and with something heavily weighing down on top of him. The girl, manager or whatever she was, was _sitting _on him. "Oi?"

"Oh?" She looked down upon him with a smile. "You're awake, good." With that she returned to watching the doubles between two freshman pairs, not really bothering to _move_. "I had to move you since you were sort of in the way of practice."

"…" Any second now she would notice what she was actually doing. That she was RUDELY sitting on someone. But … No. "Would you mind moving?" He asked, trying to be polite and suppressing the urge to kill her as it was.

"Hm …? What-?" She looked down upon him and then laughed, sliding down next to him on the bench. "Sorry, completely forgot that, you were just so comfortable to sit on."

"Haa …?" Was she stupid?

He eyed her out of the corner of his eye, noticing she was obviously staring right back at him. She noticed him looking and smiled. "So … Akaya-chan … can I call you that?"

"No."

"Well, anyways, Akaya-chan!" He sighed. "There are a few things I guess you should know about Rikkai Dai. It's not what it seems to be …" A chill ran down the freshman's spine. _Huh? _"First of all the members on this team are not exactly normal people but don't worry! You will get used to it."

Her eye twitched.

"Like the rest of us." She ruffled his hair motherly, beaming. "Just try and stay on the good side of some of the guys and you will be fine." She nodded and watched the match again. "I hope …"

"What do you mean, not normal?"

The corner of her mouth twisted up. "You will see."

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_Bock! _Her eye twitched and she turned towards the trickster. "Oh you so did _not_ …" The innocent ball rolled off after having completed its mission. "And I who thought you would have grown up a little over the summer holiday … STILL you throw balls at me?!"

The members kept walking past the two, ignoring the fact she was pressing his face down into the ground – or trying at least – and yelling stuff like _"die!"_, _"I'll crush you!" _and followed by a hysteric laughter. Akaya watched the two. Maybe she had warned him about her … seemingly she had a split personality. As Akaya was just standing there, watching, a shadow fell upon him and he glanced upwards only to get freaked out by the enormous vice-captain, looking down on him.

Sanada merely observed the younger boy. But then he walked on. "What was that all about …?" The freshman wondered, but decided to get changed and walked for the dressing rooms.

"Nadjai, when you're done with murdering him I got a job for you." Yukimura smiled down upon the two, catching her attention. Keeping Niou down with an elbow she glanced at him questioning.

"Hm? Job?"

"You remember going somewhere last year with Renji?"

She stared at him.

"And you were supposed to gather data."

She stared at him.

"Please do bring those two with you." He pointed over his shoulder to Riku and Nanao.

She stared at him.

"Oh yeah … try and _persuade _them to play a match with us."

She stared at him and … smirked. "Yes."

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**IHRHC**

Hurray, another update. -sigh- I really can feel I'm out of shape, but I hope you can bear with me as I am starting to get into the nuttyness of Nadjai again; it's hard beind abnormal! -nervous laughter- I'm not used to it. -watches everyone stare- What? WHAT?!

Anywho ... Hope you enjoyed it, review and I'll see you soon again!

Over and out! -vanishes-


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